Monday morning, a shark bit a man in the foot in New Smyrna Beach. The 22-year-old victim is said to be stable, but it’s one of several shark bites we’ve seen in recent days.
“You take it for granted that the easy things become hard, and it’s tough,” shared Kevin Blanco.
We first spoke to Blanco roughly 2 and a half months ago. That’s when a bull shark attacked him while he was spearfishing in the Florida Keys.
Fast forward to today, he’s gained his muscle and movement back. And his scar is healing, “I’ve told the story millions and millions of times, but I’ve come to the point that people want to know I’m okay.”
And Blanco is okay. He’s now doing physical therapy on his own.
But. he said he’s heard of numerous attacks since his, and he’s concerned.
“It used to be so rare, the odds of a shark attack were, you have a better chance of winning the lottery twice, getting struck by lightning. But now all you see in the news is a shark attack, shark attack, shark attack.”
And he’s not necessarily wrong.
According to Florida Museum, in 2022, Florida had the highest number of shark bites in the US, with 16 cases.
Now, according to Tracking Sharks, since Monday, there have been 14 shark bite cases reported in our state.
The latest is out of New Smyrna Beach, where a 22-year-old was bit on the foot.
The day before in Anna Maria Island, a shark bit a man in his early 20s in his leg.
And last month, headlines were made after a man got bit by a shark in the Everglades.
“It’s very difficult to say whether or not that’s an increasing trend,” explained Yannis Papastamatiou.
The Associate Professor at Florida International University, said in order to determine if these latest attacks are, in fact, a new trend, experts like him would have to collect data over a longer period of time.
But he doesn’t believe there’s a frenzy of shark attacks, “We are still talking about very, very low numbers. You have to keep in mind how many people are going into the water and how many sharks are in the water.”
He furthered, “What we don’t emphasize is all the times the bites don’t happen. Which is what happens in most of the cases.”
Papastamatiou said potential reasons for the attacks could be that more and more people are getting in the water. And in the US, there are maybe more sharks than there once were.
He emphasized, “Doesn’t mean that they are exploding, but it means that historically they have been overfished, and us fishing regulations are pretty good and they have been in place for a few decades now, so we are starting to see perhaps some rebound of some of the populations of sharks in the water.”
For those looking to venture into Florida’s deep blue, Yannis recommends getting out of the water if you see a shark, sticking with big groups, staying away from estuaries, and being vigilant.
