Suspected shark bite at Daytona Beach sends man to hospital, Florida rescuers say

A man in waist-deep water off Daytona Beach ended up in a Florida hospital after suffering a suspected shark bite, according to Volusia County Beach Safety officials.

It happened around 3 p.m. Monday, July 25, and the victim was a 33-year-old man from Orlando, officials said. Daytona Beach is about 60 miles northeast of Orlando.

The man, whose identity was not released, was standing in the water when he was bitten on his right foot “presumably by a shark,” officials said.

He was taken to a nearby hospital by EVAC ambulance with non-life threatening injuries, officials said.

The incident is the sixth suspected shark bite this year off Daytona Beach, and tests performed at hospitals have identified a suspected culprit in most of those cases: Blacktip sharks.

Blacktips grow to around 6 feet and are “common in Florida’s coastal waters, bays and estuaries,” according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The species is fast moving, often lingers near the surface and has “been implicated in attacks on bathers,” the state says. Their preferred prey includes fish, small sharks, rays and skates, octopus and lobster, FWC says.

This story was originally published July 26, 2022 at 9:16 AM with the headline "Suspected shark bite at Daytona Beach sends man to hospital, Florida rescuers say."