Originally posted Tue, 2009-04-21 12:08
NEW SMYRNA BEACH – A 20-year-old Okeechobee man became the second shark-bite victim of 2009 in the New Smyrna Beach surf when a shark punctured his right ankle late Monday afternoon, the Volusia County Beach Patrol said.
The unidentified man was surfing in front of the Minorca Condominium, 2600 block of North Peninsula Drive, when the shark bit into his right ankle, an injury described by Volusia County Beach Patrol Capt. Scott Petersohn as "very minor -- two or three puncture wounds."
A 17-year-old girl from Mims suffered minor punctures to a foot while surfing near the South Jetty on March 19.
April is a prime month for bites because of murky water, good waves and lots of bait fish in the surf, though this year's totals for the month are less than in previous years, said Petersohn, the Beach Patrol spokesman.