Hawaii tallied the second-highest count of shark attacks of any place on Earth last year, according to the University of Florida’s annual International Shark Attack File report released last week.

Only Florida had more shark attacks, with 23.

While Hawaii experienced a record 14 shark incidents with two fatalities last year, the university’s official count was only 13 because the Dec. 2 fatality in waters off Maui was considered to be provoked.

"The victim was fishing (from a kayak) with his feet in the water," said George Burgess, curator of the shark attack file. "There was bait in the water. We consider that a provoked attack."

While Florida recorded nine more unprovoked shark attacks than Hawaii in 2013, no one died in the Sunshine State and most of the bites came from smaller sharks that don’t cause as much damage.

"We get more hit-and-run attacks," Burgess said. "They grab and let go. We think it’s a case of mistaken identity."

With most of the sharks cruising the Florida surf zone less than 7 feet long and generally less aggressive, the injuries they inflict are usually less severe, he said.

In Hawaii the shark implicated in most of the attacks is the tiger shark, a large and aggressive predator considered one of the world’s most dangerous sharks.

But lucky you live Hawaii, rather than in such places as Australia, where the white shark routinely roams. The great white is even more feared than the tiger and is responsible for by far the largest number of fatal unprovoked attacks on humans.

Australia, which experienced 10 unprovoked shark attacks in 2013, has had more fatal shark attacks — six — than any other country over the past two years, the latest in November.

Hawaii has experienced a surge in shark attacks over the past two years. In 2012 there were 10 incidents, an unprecedented number at the time. Then last year topped that.

Historically, Hawaii averaged between two and three shark attacks a year in the 1980s. During the past two decades, the annual average increased to between three and four shark attacks. From 2009 to 2011 there were only three attacks per year, and there was just one in 2008.

Burgess said the high variability of shark attacks in Hawaii indicates that recent high totals do not necessarily signal an upward long-term trend.

The statement is consistent with the opinion of University of Hawaii marine biology professor Kim Holland, who says there were no obvious factors that led to the recent surge in Hawaii shark attacks. Earlier this month he predicted that shark attack numbers would subside to previous levels of three or four attacks a year.

The most recent Hawaii shark incident was Dec. 11, when a 29-year-old bodyboarder was left with cuts to the knee and hand from the bite of a 10- to 12-foot tiger shark off Naalehu, Hawaii island.

Overall, the world last year experienced the lowest number of shark attacks since 2009, although fatalities were above average, according to the 2013 shark attack file report. Seventy-two unprovoked attacks occurred worldwide, which was lower than 2012 and represents the lowest global total since 2009, when there were 67 attacks.

The United States saw a decrease in attacks with 47, lower than the 2012 total of 54, which was the highest yearly total of the current century. There were 10 fatalities worldwide, which is higher than the 10-year average from 2003-2012, Burgess said.