YouTube download / Joey Paesano video / Shark drone footage earlier this summer at the 'Shark Bite Capital Of The World,' New Smyrna Beach, Florida. Below left: Daniel True, 19, received stitches to close a sizable bite wound on his foot from a shark while surfing Friday morning near New Smyrna Beach's South Jetty. He was riding the waves before a shark spoiled his fun in the sun. Here is a link to that story posted on Sept. 3, 2011: New Smyrna Beach teen surfer bitten by shark. Additional shark bite story links posted below the main story.
By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- A 23-year-old Orlando man was standing in chest-deep water in New Smyrna when he was bitten on the foot by a shark, a beach safety official said.
It was the second shark bite incident in Bew Smyrna Beach in less than a week in the New Smyrna Beach surf, unofficially dubbed the "The Shark Bite Capital of the World."
Here is a synopsis of what occurred in the Sunday incident as described in an email media alert to Headline Surfer by Volusia County Beach Safety Capt. Laura S. Warner.
"At 3 o'clock this afternoon, a 23-year-old male from Orlando, FL was standing in chest deep water when he was bit on the foot by a shark," Warner wrote. "The shark was not seen. His injuries are non-life-threatening and he was not transported to the hospital by ambulance. This occurred in the 900 block S the Beach in New Smyrna Beach. "
The Orklando man was treated and released.
Beach Safety flew the red and purple flag on Suinday, rescuing nine people from the surf, inmcluding the shark bite victim.
The earlier shark bite was Thirsday morning.
A little before 11 a.m., a 50-year old woman from Miami was boogie boarding in the 1100 block of N. New Smyrna Beach, when she hopped off the boogie board and a shark bit her left leg, Beach Safety Capt. Tamra Malphurs told Headline Surfer in an email media alert.
"She kicked at the shark and received a second bite on her ankle," Malphurs said. "The shark was not seen. Both bites were non-life threatening and did not require transport to the hospital."
There were the fifth and sixth shark bites so far this year - all occurring in New Smyrna Beach - most at or near the South Jetty where sharks are drawn to the bait fish in the rolling surfer - also anm area loved by surfers for the curling waves.
There are more sharks in the area during the summer months when the annual Black Tip and Spinner shark migration is at its peak. But these sharks, anywhere from 6 to 12-feet in length - are not maneaters.
The sharks specials that kill are known ads the "Big 3" over the years - 1. The great white shark with 52 fatal attacks, the tiger shark with 34 fatal attacks, and the bull shark with 25 fatal attacks, according to the University of Florida's International Shark Attack File (ISAF).
According to the International Shark Attack File, New Smyrna Beach and the World's Most Famous Beach in Daytona collectively, had a record 24 shark bikes in 2008, most of them in NSB waters. Both beaches, part of several beaches along the 45 miles of Volusia County coastline that are popular tourism destinations where cars are allowed on certain stretches. Visitors and locals alike love to sunbathe, swim and surf.
Multimedia
Previous-Related Content:
Henry Frederick is publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet launched 12 years ago that serves greater Daytona Beach, Sanford & Orlando, Florida via HeadlineSurfer.com. Frederick has amassed more than a hundred journalism industry awards in print & online -- more than all other members of the working press combined in Central Florida since the mid-1990s. He earned his Master of Arts in New Media Journalism with academic honors from Full Sail University in 2019. Having witnessed the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Florida's death chamber and other high profile cases, Frederick has appeared on national crime documentary programs on Discovery ID and Reelz for his investigative reporting and cops & courts breaking news stories.