If information is uncovered about a potential shark attack, historic or new, please ask the victim and/or any witnesses to fill out a questionnaire, or if more appropriate fill it out yourself based on information you’ve developed, and forward it (them) to the International Shark Attack File by traditional mail or electronically through e-mail.
If multiple parties witnessed an incident, we would appreciate it if you would ask them to fill out a copy of the questionnaire independently so that we can get their unbiased perspectives on the incident. Inclusion of any corroborative documentation (such as newspaper articles; police, medical, or autopsy reports; photographs of the victim, gear worn by the victim, and the attack site; etc.) is also most appreciated, as is environmental information (e.g. water temperature, water salinity, tidal state, habitat, etc.). The goal is to gather as much information as possible relevant to the attack.
In addition to investigating the environmental factors and activities of the victim and the shark involved in an incident, we are very interested in documenting the medical aspects of an attack. If possible, we would welcome photographs of the wounds and the permission to request copies of relevant medical records. These data are used in on-going medical studies examining the effectiveness of various modes of medical action, especially as related to infection by Vibrio. Any supplied information, including the questionnaire and any such medical records, are considered confidential and will be used only by screened professional biological and medical researchers. The press is explicitly barred from ISAF cases files.
The questionnaires are available in Microsoft Word and PDF formats. Please click on the links below to download the file. When you are done filling out the questionnaire, you can email it as an attachment to gnaylor@flmnh.ufl.edu or mail it to the Museum address listed on the questionnaire.
Medical Release Forms
In as much as we are involved in collaborative investigations of the medical treatments of attack victims, we would welcome receiving permission to review medical records. If you so agree, please fill out and sign the below medical release form. Again, all information is considered strictly confidential.