Local 6 reports:
Swimmerswere again cleared from the water at a New Smyrna Beach yesterday, after a third swimmerin three days was bitten by a shark and treated at a hospital. This wasthe ninth recorded shark bite of the year in Volusia County, putting the numberof bites ahead of the record breaking “Year Of The Shark” in 2001,according to beach records. Monday’s bite happened when an 18-year-old wastrying to get back on a surfboard near the Ponce De Leon Inlet’s south jetty. The victim received stitches at a Central Florida hospital. There were apparently several shark sightings in the water which promptedlifeguards to instruct bathers to leave the water.
Over theweekend two different swimmers were treated at hospitals after being bitten by sharks. A 24-year-old man stepped off of hissurfboard in chest-deep water near a jetty in New Smyrna Beach Sunday and was bitten on his rightcalf. He was taken to Bert Fish Medical Centerand treated, and on Saturday, a 21-year-old man was treated at a hospital aftera shark bit his foot while he was surfing in the same area Saturday.
In 2001,there were some 22 recorded bites — the most ever in Volusia County..
