A Woman was bitten by shark at Vero Beach, Florida around noon on Sunday.
Mary Macus was around swimming around 100 yards off the beach in front of the Costa d’Este hotel when she was bitten on the thigh.
The 57-year-old was able to swim back to shore and ask for help.
She was transported to the Indian River Medical Center where she received stitches for several puncture wounds and received antibiotics.
Spokesman for the Vero Beach Lifeguard Association Erik Toomsoo told TCPalm, he was “glad it wasn’t any worse.”
Macus had been swimming between two reefs that run parallel to shore. The area, according to Toomssoo, has been dubbed “shark alley.” He said he and other lifeguards avoid the reef zone as “That is where sharks are looking for bait fish.”
The beaches were not closed and visitors continued to enjoy the water.
This is the second shark bite in Florida over the weekend. On Saturday an 11-year-old was bitten several times by a shark in Huguenot Park. The girl received serious wounds including a severed tendon on her left arm and will require surgery.
In March of this year bodyboarder Daniel Kenny was bitten was bitten on the right foot at Vero beach. The19-year-old had to have surgery on his Achilles tendon.
Although Florida has been dubbed the shark attack capitol of the world, most incidents are non-life threatening. The majority seem to occur in rough murky water and appear to be caused by a misidentification by the sharks.
This is the twenty-ninth shark attack bite of 2016. Three of which were fatal. Nine total in the US, with eight occurring in Florida.
All locations have been marked on the 2016 shark attack bites tracking map.
