Man recovering from shark bite on the Florida coast in state's third attack in a month

A antheral connected Florida’s northeast seashore was bitten by a shark this play but is present recovering, authorities said Sunday, successful the 3rd shark onslaught successful authorities waters implicit the past month.

Officials from the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit responding to a distress telephone Friday greeting recovered the unfortunate successful captious information aboard a boat, losing humor from a “severe” shark wound connected his close forearm, according to a societal media station from the sheriff's office.

The onslaught occurred successful the Amelia River adjacent Fernandina Beach, astir 35 miles (56 kilometers) northbound of Jacksonville, aft the unfortunate caught the shark portion fishing, according to sheriff's bureau nationalist affairs serviceman Alicia Tarancon.

After officers applied a tourniquet, the unfortunate was taken to shore, wherever helium was airlifted to a section hospital, The Florida Times-Union reported.

On Sunday, Tarancon told The Associated Press that the unfortunate is alert and inactive recuperating astatine the hospital.

It’s the 3rd shark onslaught successful Florida successful June. The other 2 attacks successful the Florida panhandle successful aboriginal June near 3 radical injured and led to the impermanent closure of beaches successful Walton County.

Three much attacks were reported successful the U.S. — 1 successful Southern California and 2 successful Hawaii, 1 resulting successful death.

Stephen Kajiura, a Florida Atlantic University prof of biologic sciences specializing successful sharks, said the fig of caller attacks is simply a “bit high” but is simply a earthy effect of much radical successful the h2o during summertime and warmer waters.

“You’re going to person a higher probability of thing happening due to the fact that much radical are coming to the beach,” helium said. “It is unusual to get truthful galore bites successful speedy succession, but erstwhile you see the fig of radical successful h2o close now, it’s not that unusual.”

Another crushed for accrued shark enactment is tiny bait fish, which sharks provender on, swimming adjacent to the beach, Kajiura said. He besides said scientists are seeing a resurgence of immoderate taxon of sharks, which could mean much sharks are successful the water.

According to experts, shark enactment is astatine its highest during warmer months, but besides portion sharks are seasonally migrating successful the autumn and outpouring up and down the coast.

Still, Kajiura said, fatalities are rare.

Kajiura noted that Florida leads the satellite successful shark bites.

Though nary were fatal, Florida reported 16 unprovoked shark wound incidents past year, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History’s yearly shark onslaught report. That represents 44% of the 36 full unprovoked bites successful the U.S. successful 2023, and a small little than a 4th worldwide.

Kajiura urged swimmers not to debar the h2o – conscionable beryllium vigilant.

Avoid flashy jewelry oregon watches, which whitethorn look akin to food scales successful the water, helium said, and aquatics successful groups and wherever determination are lifeguards. Also, debar swimming adjacent schools of fish, wherever sharks whitethorn beryllium lurking.

“You’ve astir apt been successful the h2o with sharks before, and you didn’t cognize it,” helium said. “Just beryllium careful.”