NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The 17-year-old Mims boy bitten by a shark while surfing Friday had surgery later that day at Bert Fish Medical Center for a ruptured tendon, his father told media outlets earlier today.
Ethan Mims, 17, A 17-year-old surfer suffered a bite to his right foot shortly 9 a.m. Friday while surfing near the South Jetty, which required surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon, his father Bruce Fulton, confirmed.
The junior Fulton, who turns 18 Monday, is expected to make a full recovery and return to surfing, his father said.
On Wednesday, 15-year-old Troy Zettle of Edgewater, was bitten on the left foot by a shark after he purposely stepped on it after it knocked him from his surfboard, according to a report from the Volusia County Beach Patrol, which classified it as a "provoked attack."
The most sharks attacks recorded in one year in the New Smyrna Beach area was 21 back in 2001, dubbed the "Year of the Shark."
So far this year, there have been 15 shark attacks, two less than he 17 recorded last year. Shark season runs through September. The record is 21 recorded in 2001, according to the Shark Attack File at the University of Florida, which keeps such records.
According to the university's research, Volusia County accounts for half of the attacks in the United States.
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