Is Your Favorite North Carolina Beach on the Shark Attack Top 8?

Quick Take

• The beach with the most shark attacks in North Carolina has a surprising twist: not a single one was fatal. See Emerald Isle's record →
• One North Carolina beach delivers a 4-in-7 fatality rate, which is the deadliest odds on this list, yet it doesn't crack the top three. See Ocracoke's fatality rate →
• Sharks attacked mostly children at one of these beaches, and the pattern behind it reveals something unsettling about timing and water depth. Ocean Isle's child attack pattern →
• A beach that didn't make this list was the site of the most recent North Carolina shark attack, which raises the question of what 'dangerous' actually means here.

The most recent shark attack in North Carolina occurred on May 28, 2025, when a swimmer was injured off the coast of North Carolina’s Sunset Beach. Local authorities estimate the individual’s leg wound was most likely caused by a shark. Though the North Carolina beachgoer required medical attention following the incident, they avoided fatal injury and made a full recovery. Shark attacks are not common in North Carolina, but this incident reminds us that sharks inhabit all waters along the Atlantic coast. Shark attacks are possible, even in waist-deep water, in most areas off the N.C. coast. Case in point: Sunset Beach does not even make this list.

Since the state started keeping records in 1853, North Carolina has had approximately 122 reported shark attacks, according to some analyses, though the precise breakdown of provoked versus unprovoked incidents varies by source. The Global Shark Attack File includes data about all reported shark attacks, even when scientists can’t confirm the circumstances. The file groups attacks into provoked and unprovoked attacks, sea or watercraft disaster incidents, and incidents of questionable or unknown circumstances. 

The details about these questionable incidents are unclear: some have not yet been confirmed to have involved a shark, while others lack sufficient evidence to determine whether death resulted from drowning or a shark attack. While perfectly accurate data are difficult to obtain, these statistics provide a general picture of where and how often shark attacks occur in North Carolina.

Type of Incident	Total
Number of attacks	117
Provoked	5
Unprovoked	97
Air/Sea Disaster	3
Watercraft Disaster	3
Unknown circumstances/shark involvement not confirmed/unclear whether death is caused by a shark attack	9
Fatal	14
Most recent attack	May 28, 2025

8. Carolina Beach

Place	Shark attacks	Fatal	Type
Carolina Beach	5	2	2 Unprovoked 3 Unknown

Among North Carolina beaches with the most shark attacks, Carolina Beach has the highest number of attacks that occurred under unclear circumstances. 

The first occurred on October 8, 1989, between Wrightsville Beach and Carolina Beach in New Hanover County. Doug Nunnally, a 49-year-old man, was found dead after diving in the late afternoon; shark involvement was suspected but not confirmed. 

Another victim was found dead in 1995. The victim had supposedly drowned, but scientists identified shark bites on the body. 

Alexis Huesgen was attacked by a shark at Carolina Beach in July 2004, and Chris O’Connor was attacked on August 12, 2005. 

The last shark attack in the area occurred on July 13, 2008, and the circumstances are unknown. Scientists believe that Donald Griffin, a 52-year-old man, collided with a marine animal, possibly a shark or a dolphin, while bodysurfing, resulting in bruises, abrasions, and spinal and nerve damage.

7. Holden Beach

Place	Shark attacks	Fatal	Type
Holden Beach	6	0	6 Unprovoked

Holden Beach has six records of shark attacks, all unprovoked and none fatal. The first attack in the area occured on June 30, 1940, when a 10-foot shark lacerated William T. Dye’s thigh while fishing. 

Six decades later, another shark attacked a swimmer at Holden Beach. A gray shark measuring 6 feet in length attacked Tim Poynter, a 14-year-old boy, while he was surfing. Fortunately, Poynter sustained only minor injuries. 

Three other incidents took place in 2005, 2009, and 2011. The last attack at Holden Beach occurred on July 11, 2013, and involved Barbara Corey, a 63-year-old woman whose right foot was bitten while walking through the water.

6. Masonboro Island/Masonboro Inlet

Place	Shark attacks	Fatal	Type
Masonboro Island/Masonboro Inlet	6	0	6 Unprovoked

All shark attacks at Masonboro Island and Masonboro Inlet were unprovoked. The first happened on August 19, 1986. J. McCorley was surfing when a shark bit his hand. 

Nearly a decade later, in 1995, Michael Greenwood was swimming in the area when a shark bit his left arm. Other attacks happened in 2003, 2006, and 2014. 

The last attack occurred on August 24, 2014, and involved Miller Diggs, who suffered lacerations to her left foot from a shark measuring 4 feet in length.

5. Ocean Isle

Place	Shark attacks	Fatal	Type
Ocean Isle	6	0	5 Unprovoked 1 Unknown

Most of the attacks at Ocean Isle involved children, except one in 2019 that involved a 19-year-old man.

The first shark attack at Ocean Isle, Brunswick County, occurred on August 10, 1980. The incident involved a 10-year-old girl named Susan Waters. A shark bit her on the knee and lower leg while she was wading. Another child, Brooklyn Daniel, aged 6, was attacked under the same circumstances on June 18, 2012. 

There is another 2012 record of a child being bitten, but shark involvement has not yet been confirmed.

The last attack at Ocean Isle occurred on June 27, 2021, when a shark bit a 7-year-old girl’s calf while she was swimming.

4. Ocracoke

Place	Shark attacks	Fatal	Type
Ocracoke	7	4	7 Unprovoked

Ocracoke is the North Carolina region with the highest number of fatal attacks: 4 out of 7.

The first fatal North Carolina shark attack happened in this area sometime between 1900 and 1905 and involved a member of the Coast Guard. The next fatal incident, in July 1905, claimed another Coast Guard member. 

Other incidents occurred in 1945, 1988, and 2011. On July 1, 2015, Andrew Costello, a 68-year-old man, was bitten by a 6- to 7-foot-long shark and suffered injuries to his torso, hip, lower leg, and hand. The man was swimming at Lifeguard Beach when the shark attacked him.

3. Wrightsville Beach

Place	Shark attacks	Fatal	Type
Wrightsville Beach	7	1	5 Unprovoked 2 Unknown

The first suspected attack at Wrightsville Beach occurred on October 8, 1989. It took place between Wrightsville Beach and Carolina Beach in New Hanover County. Supposedly, Doug Nunnally, a 49-year-old man, was attacked by a shark while diving. The attack was fatal. However, the shark’s involvement is only suspected, not yet confirmed. 

Other incidents happened in 1995, 2000, 2002, and 2010. The last shark attack at Wrightsville Beach occurred on August 17, 2011, but few details are known, including whether a shark was even involved. The available evidence indicates the victim was a 12-year-old boy who suffered abrasions to his left hand. 

2. North Topsail Beach/Topsail Island

Place	Shark attacks	Fatal	Type
North Topsail Beach/Topsail Island	9	0	8 Unprovoked 1 Unknown

None of the nine shark attacks at North Topsail Beach was fatal. The first occurred on September 15, 2001. Dale Fulcher, Jr., a 16-year-old boy, was surfing when a shark bit his foot. 

Another incident occurred a few years later, on September 5, 2005, when a bull shark severely lacerated Elizabeth Gardner’s calf. Other attacks occurred in 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2011. Two of them took place in Surf City, Topsail Island.

The last attack at North Topsail Beach occurred on July 8, 2012, and involved a 43-year-old woman named Tracy Fasick. She was swimming when a shark bit her, leaving lacerations to her right ankle and calf.

1. Emerald Isle

Place	Shark attacks	Fatal	Type
Emerald Isle	10	0	8 Unprovoked 2 Unknown

Emerald Isle has the highest number of shark attacks in North Carolina — 10 in total. Fortunately, none were fatal. Those involved were either swimming or surfing. Eight attacks were unprovoked, and two could not be categorized due to insufficient information.

The first attack on Emerald Isle occurred on September 25, 1971, and involved a surfer named J. Homer, aged 17. 

Shark attacks in the region became more frequent from 2000 onward. For example, on August 21, 2000, a shark nearly severed a man’s hand. Other attacks happened in 2002, 2008, 2016, and 2020. The last reported attack occurred on October 21, 2020, and has not yet been confirmed to have involved a shark.