Sleek, muscular bodies of sharks slice through the water—powerful predators of the ocean, striking fear in smaller fish—and sometimes humans. After extensive coverage of shark attacks on people in local and national media, readers may be left asking why there seems to be a “spike” in recent incidents. We talked to some shark experts to find out if that’s true.

Spoiler: though the overall long-term trend shows an increasing number of shark attacks, the number has actually declined in the past few years. Still, a notable difference exists in the number of recent incidents on the U.S. Atlantic coast versus the Pacific. The reasons may surprise you.

Most reported shark attacks are what experts consider “unprovoked,” meaning a shark apparently comes