n the past two months, multiple people have been attacked by sharks in Florida, Hawaii and Texas. And while some of these occurrences may not be out of the ordinary, they still create an element of fear for those wanting to take to the beach during the hotter months of the year. In early June, two separate shark attacks left three people hurt along Florida's Gulf Coast, about shark danger in the water, and urging them to tread carefully when swimming in the ocean.
A few weeks ago, there was , which killed a lifeguard who was surfing off the island of Oahu. And, throughout the Fourth of July festivities at least four people were bitten by sharks in Texas and Florida. Shark attack instances, trends, and interactive maps for those curious are logged with the International Shark Attack File (ISAF) at the Florida Museum of Natural History—a comprehensive database of all known shark attacks initiated in 1958.
So what do you do if you encounter a shark? An expert shares with TIME what to do in the event you spot a shark and how to best prepare for avoiding injury. According to Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research and of ISAF, people can very often be in close proximity to sharks, though swimmers are often unaware since sharks are swimming roughly 100 yards to 200 yards offshore. Sharks do typically try to avoid people and keep to themselves, according to Naylor.
But, when they come closer to shore—usually, looking for food in bait fish— there are mu.