Shark bites man in inner tube in second beach attack in 24 hours, Florida officials say
.png "A 26-year-old man was bitten by a shark in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. He was the second person to be attacked by a shark there within 24 hours.")
A man was bitten by a shark at a Florida beach, and officials say he was the second person to be attacked at the same beach within 24 hours.
The 26-year-old Sarasota man was wading in an inner tube at New Smyrna Beach just before 4:15 p.m July 5, according to Volusia County Beach Safety, WKMG reported.
The man was bitten on his left foot and his injuries were non-life-threatening, according to WOFL.
This is the second shark attack at New Smyrna Beach within 24 hours.
McClatchy News reported an Ohio man was bitten on July 4 at the beach.
The man was bitten on his right foot while he was “playing football in knee-deep water near Flagler Avenue in New Smyrna Beach,” interim director of Volusia County Beach Safety Ocean Rescue Tamra Malphurs said.
New Smyrna Beach has been called the “shark bite capital of the world” due to the high number of attacks that have happened there, according to The Daytona Beach News-Journal.
New Smyrna Beach is a roughly 15-mile drive south from Daytona Beach.
Shark attacks
Shark attacks are “extremely rare,” according to John Carlson of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“You have a better chance of getting in a car accident and being injured on your way to the beach than you do actually when you get to go swimming,” he said in a video posted to NOAA’s website.
In 2023, the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File investigated 120 shark-human interactions worldwide. Of those interactions, 69 were unprovoked shark bites, and there were 14 “shark-related fatalities.”
If you see a shark in the water, however, don’t panic, Richard Peirce, former chair of the Shark Trust and Shark Conservation Society, told CNN.
“Don’t start splashing around — you’re just going to excite, incite and encourage the shark’s interest,” he told the news outlet.
Instead, maintain eye contact with the shark and read its body language. If the shark appears to be in “attack mode,” you should make yourself as large as possible, CNN reported. If it seems to just be swimming by, try to stay small.
If the shark attacks, experts told CNN you shouldn’t play dead.
“You must try and keep the animal in sight and very slowly and gently try and swim backwards and get into shallow water,” Peirce told CNN. “Again, you’ve got to be careful – large sharks can attack in very shallow depths.”
