Spearfisher bit - Marathon Key, Florida

[DandyDon]

I thought "bitten" but grammarly said to use "bit." Hope the diver recovers well.

BREAKING: MARATHON SCUBA DIVER BITTEN BY SHARK

The Florida Keys recorded its fourth shark bite in six months when a diver was bitten while spearfishing on Sept. 6. Marathon scuba instructor Zack Winegardner was diving recreationally with […]

keysweekly.com

The Florida Keys recorded its fourth shark bite in six months when a local Marathon scuba diver was bitten on Sept. 6.

According to reports from Marathon Fire Rescue and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, the male victim was spearfishing while diving recreationally with friends in approximately 70 feet of water along the reef line about five miles south of Marathon when he was bitten on the elbow. Though not officially confirmed, initial reports indicated the bite likely came from a reef shark.

A call log from the sheriff’s office indicated that emergency responders were dispatched to Marathon’s Captain Hook’s Marina, where the victim was brought to shore before being eventually transported to the Marathon airport and flown via Trauma Star to Jackson South Medical Center in Miami.


The identity of the victim has not been released by official sources, but friends apprised of the victim’s situation have indicated to Keys Weekly that he is in stable condition and recovering.

Three other shark bites have been reported in the Keys within the last half year. On Aug. 13, 10-year-old Jameson Reeder Jr. lost part of his leg after being bitten at Looe Key reef while snorkeling with his family. An April 17 bite at the Islamorada sandbar near Whale Harbor left one man with deep lacerations in his leg, while a June 29 bite on Summerland Key sent 35-year-old Lindsay Bruns of Flower Mound, Texas to the hospital for more than a week as she underwent multiple surgeries to repair most of the function in her injured leg.

According to the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File (ISAF), there were 73 confirmed unprovoked shark bites in 2021, with 47 occurring in the United States. Florida topped the list of states reporting bites with 28 reported incidents; Hawaii was a distant second with six. Most unprovoked bites are believed to be a case of mistaken identity on the part of the shark, a scenario likely exacerbated by cloudy water with reduced visibility.


Keys Weekly will update this story as more details become available.

 

[Johnoly]

I know zero details about this incident.
But many freedivers will "hug" their struggling fish they just shot on the bottom to get it to the surface where a buddy can then help keep a shark at distance. That might explain why an elbow bite rather than some other area of the body.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I suppose he must have had his catch with him. It's so rare for divers to be bit underwater otherwise.

 

[Shasta_man]

As a tangent, I'm wondering what a provoked bite would be other than the obvious. I just mention this because it seems unnecessary to call out unprovoked as so many are as to make it only appropriate to call out provoked.

 

[johndiver999]

I suppose he must have had his catch with him. It's so rare for divers to be bit underwater otherwise.

If you are assuming he was holding the fish when he got attacked, that is a good assumption, but it is most definitely NOT for sure.

These types of attacks will be deemed "provoked" so I don't think they get added to the shark bite tally at the Florida Museum. It is my understanding that if you are diving anywhere fishing, baiting, chumming or spearfishing is or has occurred recently, then the attack is considered "provoked" and they are off the record. That is my recollection anyway of their policy, always seemed like they were deliberately trying to cook the books. from their website....

Provoked bites occur when a human initiates interaction with a shark in some way. These include instances when people are bitten after harassing or trying to touch sharks, bites occurring while unhooking or removing a shark from a fishing net, and so forth. In these encounters, the shark is responding with defensive behavior. Bites on spearfishers, bites on people attempting to feed sharks, bites occurring while unhooking or removing a shark from a fishing net are also classified as provoked bites.

 

[chillyinCanada]

They may call it what they will.

My belief is that he had his catch with him. Somehow his elbow got in the shark's way to its real goal.

 

[matts1w]

I spearfished for years out of Fort Myers and the Keys, and I ALWAYS clipped my fish to my person. Everyone I knew did. There were days where I would swim for an hour with a bunch of bloody snapper and hogfish at my waist and I never once thought a thing about it and would make jokes about "Mr. Gray Suit" or "the Taxman." Now that I am older, have my own children, and moved from Florida years ago, it kinda makes me shudder. I totally miss spearfishing every weekend like I did, but I don't think I could bring myself to become a human chum bag again.

 

[johndiver999]

I spearfished for years out of Fort Myers and the Keys, and I ALWAYS clipped my fish to my person. Everyone I knew did. There were days where I would swim for an hour with a bunch of bloody snapper and hogfish at my waist and I never once thought a thing about it and would make jokes about "Mr. Gray Suit" or "the Taxman." Now that I am older, have my own children, and moved from Florida years ago, it kinda makes me shudder. I totally miss spearfishing every weekend like I did, but I don't think I could bring myself to become a human chum bag again.

Things are much different now with respect to sharks. There is way more sharks now and in many areas they are way, way more aggressive toward spearos.