Sharks Bite Three More Surfers on Florida's Beaches

Three more Florida surfers suffered shark bites Sunday at Volusia County beaches, just one day after three other surfers were bitten.

None of the bites inflicted Sunday by blacktip spinner sharks were life-threatening, said Joe Wooden, deputy beach chief for Volusia County.

A 17-year-old female surfer was bitten on the left foot off Wilbur-by-the-Sea. She was transported to Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach, where she was treated and released.

The other two surfers were bitten Sunday at New Smyrna Beach Inlet, the same area where Saturday's attacks occurred. The inlet is a three-mile portion of the 13-mile beach.

A beach patrol had scouted the area for three hours Sunday but not had seen any sharks when, within a minute, a 17-year-old girl was bitten in the left calf and a 32-year-old man, Robert Kurrek, was bitten in the right foot, Wooden said.

The beach was then closed and the victims were transported to Bert Fish Medical Center in New Smyrna Beach. The girl will undergo surgery, but was in good condition late Sunday. Kurrek was expected to be released late Sunday, officials said.

Two surfers bitten Saturday during a surfing contest — Jeff White, 20, and Dylan Feindt, 19 — were treated at a local hospital for foot bites and released. The third surfer, Jason Valentine, 20, underwent surgery for a hand injury. He was listed in good condition late Sunday and should be released by Monday, officials said.

Two of the three surfers had actually jumped over a swarm of sharks to ride the Great White Wave. The men, who were on the Daytona Beach, Fla., shore, actually hopped over the sharks or went around them so they could reach the waves, according to Leon Johnston, director of the Conference of the National Scholastic Surf Association.

White and Feindt were competing in the conference's meet when they were bitten: Valentine was surfing nearby.

"We saw sharks all morning long," Johnston told The News-Journal of Daytona Beach. "There were bull sharks 7 to 8 feet long and 6-foot blacktips."

Of the 37 shark bites reported worldwide this year, 17 occurred in Volusia County, Wooden said.

The sharks are drawn to the area because it is rich in bait fish, Wooden said. Hundreds of surfers head to New Smyrna Beach on a good weekend, one of the best surfing spots in Florida, Wooden said.

This weekend's attacks come at a time when shark fears are already heightened.

Two Americans attacked this month in the Bahamas are recovering at a Miami hospital. One man's leg was amputated, and another man suffered a serious leg injury.

An 8-year-old boy was attacked by a bull shark in July in Pensacola. Jessie Arbogast's arm was severed and he lost nearly all his blood. The arm was reattached but Jessie remains in a light coma.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.