Updated May 6, 2021.
A fatal shark attack has been reported in Jamaica, while another person was bitten by a shark at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort. And, in New Smyrna Beach, a surfer needed surgery after a shark bit his foot.
A fatal shark attack was reported in Jamaica after Donovan Haywood, 53, and a group of 10 fishermen left Savanna-la-Mar to spearfish off Little London.
When the group entered the water of Little Bay a little after 8 a.m. on May 1, a large shark attacked Haywood underwater on his left side and began biting his upper torso.
Members of the group tried to pull Haywood into the boat, but the shark continued to fight and pull on his body.
A fishing buddie shot the shark in the head, which eventually released Haywood after severing his left arm and swimming away with. The group tried to stop the bleeding and took him to shore. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.
In 2018 another spearfisherman died due to shark attack in Jamaica.
Nicholas Malcolm, 43, of Pineapple, Ocho Rios, St. Ann, went fishing with a friend off James Bond Beach in Jamaica September 19 and never returned to the meeting place. A search was started and shark-bitten pieces of his dive gear was found.
Surfer bitten in New Smyrna Beach
On April 30 in Florida, Adrienne Wisko, 64, was sitting on her surfboard in 8 to 10 feet of water south of the New Smyrna Beach Jetty just after 9 a.m.
That’s when she made eye contact with a shark that grabbed her foot. She said the shark continued pulling on her foot as if it were trying to drag her into the sea.
Despite the injury to her right foot, she made it back to shore and alerted authorities. Her foot was lacerated, may be broken, and she may need surgery.
Based on bite marks, authorities estimate a 4-foot bull shark was likely responsible. Her son, Derek Wisko, said his mother has surfed most of her life and will return after she has recovered.
This is the first reported shark bite in 2021 at New Smyrna Beach, which is known as the shark attack capital of the world. The area has rough water and often, lots of bait fish which attract sharks.
Second shark bite near Disney resort
A second shark bite near Disney’s Vero Beach Resort was reported April 29.
A 54-year-old man on vacation was boogie boarding in 30 to 40 feet off the beach around 10:30 a.m. when he was bitten on his knee and calf. He was able to make it to the beach, and resort medical staff responded to the scene within a minute. A tourniquet was applied to the bite to stem bleeding.
The man was transported to Sebastian River Medical Center before being airlifted to another hospital.
On March 30, another visitor sustained minor wounds to his feet from a shark bite in the same general area.
A bit to the south, a 16-year-old Vero Beach girl saw a shadow in the water coming toward her, March 16, while she was swimming in waters north of Jaycee Park Beach and south of Wabasso Beach. She sustained multiple lacerations to both her knees from a blacktip shark.
All locations have been marked on the 2021 Shark Attack Map.
