Despite two suspected fatal shark attacks off the coast of Trelawny in the last two years, principal director of the National Fisheries Authority’s (NFA) Capture Fisheries Division, Stephen Smikle, says there are fewer sharks in Jamaica’s waters.

“We don't have an increase in infestation. In fact, it's quite the opposite. There are far less sharks today. Just even being in the water, I see far less sharks today than what was there 20 years ago,” he said. The Trelawny coastline, which is a familiar route for cruise ships, is long believed to attract sharks. But Smikle dismissed those claims.

“My understanding of sharks is that they don't necessarily follow ships. They don't. What sharks do is that if there is, let's say, you know, fish being killed, or if there's blood in the water, or, you know, any increased signals, meaning vibrations from dead, you know fish that have just been killed dolphins or by even bigger fish, they will go for that," he said.