A man who was bitten by a shark at Hollywood’s beach on Tuesday afternoon is recovering after surgery Wednesday, a fire rescue official said.
The man, who was on a trip with family and friends from Canada, was standing in chest-deep water with a friend when he saw a fish launch over his head and splash into the water, Hollywood Fire Rescue spokesperson Chai Kauffman said in a news release Wednesday.
He noticed he was injured and walked toward the sand, where others on the beach immediately came to help him, Kauffman said.
The man was bleeding severely from a cut on his arm when he came out of the water, according to first responder radio communications archived by the site Broadcastify.
Hallandale Beach Ocean Rescue and Hollywood Fire Rescue found him near the 4100 block of South Ocean Drive with significant cuts on his upper arm, requiring a tourniquet. He was taken to Memorial Regional Hospital and was in stable condition and “recovering well” as of Wednesday, Kauffman said.
A shark bit an 18-year-old surf instructor on his foot while he was surfing off New Smyrna Beach last week, then dragged him for 10 to 15 feet before he was able to break free, according to a report from FOX 35 Orlando.
In June, a man was attacked by a shark in the Amelia River near Fernandina Beach, north of Jacksonville, the Associated Press reported, and three people were bitten within 90 minutes in two separate incidents in Walton County in the panhandle.
Six shark bite survivors, from the waters of Jupiter to the Bahamas, reunited with those who helped save them at St. Mary’s Hospital in West Palm Beach on Wednesday.
‘I didn’t even feel it.’ Shark bite survivors describe their ordeals
Shark bites are generally rare worldwide. According to the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File, which maintains a database of shark attacks, there are between 70 and 100 shark attacks worldwide annually, causing five deaths.
Volusia County, particularly in New Smyrna Beach, is where the most shark attacks occur annually worldwide. The bites in that part of Florida are largely from minor and juvenile coastal sharks, where they hunt in the murky waters by identifying movement, the museum says.
In 2024, Florida documented the highest number of unprovoked bites in the U.S. with 14, the annual report shows, and none were fatal. Eight of them were in Volusia County.
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