Current:Home > Contact-usMan critically injured after shark attack in northeast Florida-LoTradeCoin
Man critically injured after shark attack in northeast Florida
View Date:2024-12-24 07:51:58
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A man in his 40s was critically injured in another shark incident Friday just weeks after three people were injured in two shark attacks off Florida's Gulf Coast, authorities said.
The victim, who was not identified, was hospitalized in critical condition after sustaining a severe bite to his right arm, Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper said late Friday afternoon. The agency's Marine Unit was on patrol off Amelia Island in northeast Florida when they received a distress call over the emergency radio shortly after 11 a.m., according to Leeper.
When deputies got to the boat, Leeper said they found a man with a severe shark bite to his forearm and was "bleeding pretty badly."
A deputy applied a tourniquet to the injured man's arm and piloted the man's boat to Dee Dee Bartels boat ramp, where members of Fernandina Beach Fire Rescue were waiting, the sheriff said. The man was airlifted to a local hospital where he is expected to recover.
Although shark attacks are still considered rare, Friday's incident follows three back-to-back shark attacks that occurred in the waters off Florida’s Gulf Coast on June 7. Two teenagers and a woman were injured in the attacks, authorities said.
According to Walton County officials, the woman lost her lower left arm and suffered "significant trauma" to other areas of her body. One of the teenagers had significant injuries to the upper leg and one hand, and the other had minor injuries on one foot.
What to know:Shark attacks in Florida, Hawaii lead to closed beaches, hospitalizations
How many people are usually bitten in Florida each year?
Friday's attack would be only the ninth confirmed unprovoked shark attack in Nassau County since 1882, according to data compiled by the International Shark Attack File.
The attack was also the first since July 2018, when two people were bitten by sharks in unprovoked attacks. In September 2015, a 12-year-old Georgia boy was bitten twice by a shark, suffering lacerations to his leg.
Other Florida counties, such as Duval and St. Johns, have had over 40 such attacks during the same period, according to the database established in 1958 and housed at the Florida Museum of Natural History. With 351 shark attacks, Volusia leads the state, followed by Brevard with 158 incidents and Palm Beach with 83.
According to the International Shark Attack File, the state saw 16 cases last year, which represent 44% of the U.S. total and 23% of unprovoked bites worldwide. This is lower than Florida’s recent five-year annual average of 19 incidents per year.
The odds of being attacked by a shark are 1 in 11.5 million, according to Florida Museum of Natural History. Shark attack trends have also decreased in recent years — there was a 12.2% decrease in shark bites last year compared with 2022, USA TODAY previously reported.
In 2023, there were 69 unprovoked shark bites on humans worldwide, 36 of them were in the United States.
The International Shark Attack File said there were 14 confirmed shark-related fatalities worldwide last year, 10 of which were assigned as unprovoked. This number is higher than the five-year annual global average of six unprovoked fatalities per year.
Researchers stress that fatal shark bites are extremely rare. USA TODAY previously reported that the odds of dying as a result of a shark attack in the U.S. is 1 in 3,748,067.
How can you avoid being bitten by a shark?
While the chances of being bitten by a shark are very rare, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission offers some tips on how to avoid being attacked while out in the ocean:
- Always stay in groups since sharks are more likely to bite a solitary individual.
- Do not wander too far from shore; this isolates an individual and places him or her far away from assistance.
- Avoid being in the water during darkness or twilight hours when sharks are most active.
- Do not enter the water if bleeding from an open wound or if menstruating — a shark's ability to smell blood is acute.
- Wearing shiny jewelry is discouraged. When light reflects off shiny jewelry, it resembles the sheen of fish scales.
- Avoid waters with known discharges or sewage and waters used for any type of fishing — especially if there are signs of baitfishes or feeding activity. Diving seabirds, which frequently feed on baitfishes, are good indicators of such activity.
- Use extra caution when the waters are murky.
- Be careful when occupying the area between sandbars or near steep drop-offs — these are favorite hangouts for sharks.
- Swim only in areas tended by lifeguards.
- Do not enter the water if sharks are known to be present, and get out of the water if sharks are sighted.
- Never harass a shark.
Contributing: Samantha Neely, Collin Bestor, Cheryl McCloud, and C.A. Bridges, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida; Janet Loehrke, USA TODAY
veryGood! (56851)
Related
- Denver district attorney is investigating the leak of voting passwords in Colorado
- Arkansas panel bans electronic signatures on voter registration forms
- Alabama reigns supreme among schools with most NFL draft picks in first round over past 10 years
- Should Americans be worried about the border? The first Texas border czar says yes.
- Apologetic rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine gets 45 days in prison for probation violations
- Columbia’s president, no stranger to complex challenges, walks tightrope on student protests
- Ryan Seacrest's Ex Aubrey Paige Responds to Haters After Their Breakup
- Can you prevent forehead wrinkles and fine lines? Experts weigh in.
- Vogue Model Dynus Saxon Charged With Murder After Stabbing Attack
- 'Zero evidence': Logan Paul responds to claims of Prime drinks containing PFAS
Ranking
- Vermont man is fit to stand trial over shooting of 3 Palestinian college students
- Matty Healy Reveals If He's Listened to Taylor Swift's Tortured Poets Department
- Broadway review: In Steve Carell’s ‘Uncle Vanya,’ Chekhov’s gun fires blanks
- Ranking the best players available in the college football transfer portal
- Congress is revisiting UFOs: Here's what's happened since last hearing on extraterrestrials
- 8 years after the National Enquirer’s deal with Donald Trump, the iconic tabloid is limping badly
- Why Taylor Swift's 'all the racists' lyric on 'I Hate It Here' is dividing fans, listeners
- Get Quay Sunglasses for Only $39, 20% Off Miranda Kerr’s Kora Organics, 50% Off Target Home Deals & More
Recommendation
-
A list of mass killings in the United States this year
-
Review: Zendaya's 'Challengers' serves up saucy melodrama – and some good tennis, too
-
Looking for cheaper Eras Tour tickets? See Taylor Swift at these 10 international cities.
-
Alabama Coal Mine Keeps Digging Under A Rural Community After Hundreds of Fines and a Fatal Explosion. Residents Are Rattled
-
Businesses at struggling corner where George Floyd was killed sue Minneapolis
-
No one is above the law. Supreme Court will decide if that includes Trump while he was president
-
Gerry Turner's daughter criticizes fans' response to 'Golden Bachelor' divorce: 'Disheartening'
-
More cows are being tested and tracked for bird flu. Here’s what that means