Shark Attacks Ohio Tourist In Florida On Fourth of July

Bull Shark file photo. Credit: NOAA.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Florida - An Ohio man was bitten by a shark in shallow water in the Atlantic Ocean off of New Smyrna Beach, which is near Daytona Beach in Volusia County on Central Florida's east coast, on the Fourth of July.

The man sustained an injury to his foot that was not life-threatening.

This shark attack comes less than a week after a man was severely bitten on his right arm in a shark attack off Fernandina Beach in North Florida, and less than a month after after a woman and two teenagers were injured in two separate shark attacks off Florida's Panhandle in Walton County, Florida.

Florida accounted for 44% of all shark attacks in the U.S. and 23% of the world’s total in 2023, according to the University of Florida International Shark Attack File Worldwide Shark Attack Summary.

Volusia County had the most shark attacks (8) last year, representing 50% of the Florida total which is in line with the recent five-year annual average for Volusia County.