Florida Surfer Survives Shark Bite at New Smyrna Beach

A 40-year-old surfer, Matt Bender of Winter Park, was bitten by a shark on 6 July while riding waves at New Smyrna Beach in Volusia County, an area long labeled the world’s “shark-bite capital.” Bender told local media the shark clamped onto his right arm without warning, describing the sensation as “like a bear trap” and “electricity.” Volusia County Beach Safety later confirmed the incident. Bender fashioned his board leash into a makeshift tourniquet before lifeguards arrived. He was transported to a Daytona Beach hospital, where surgeons reconnected muscles, tendons and nerves in a bite wound measuring roughly 10 inches. Doctors expect a full recovery within months, and Bender says he plans to return to the water once healed. New Smyrna Beach’s warm surf and dense bait-fish population make it one of the world’s most active spots for unprovoked shark encounters. The county recorded eight bites last year and more than 300 since the 1880s, according to local authorities. Officials have not identified the species involved in the latest attack.