09/11/2023 Bill Eveland Satellite Beach, Brevard County

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SEA TERROR Shark bite victim trapped in middle of a feeding frenzy in second brutal mauling on US’ most dangerous beach in 24 hours

Bill Eveland noticed a pod of mullet fish swim by while he was surfing with friends on Satellite Beach on Monday afternoon.

Eveland stayed in the waves while his friend returned to the beach.

"When I came up from the wave is when the shark kind of hit a glancing blow to my lower right back, and I knew I'd been hit," Eveland said.

"I glanced to the right, and I could see the back end of the shark coming off, like where my board [was], and enter back into the water."

The shark appeared to be looking to feed, and Eveland made the calculated decision to wait on his board until it was safe to get back to the beach.

Luckily, he was not severely injured, but the shark attack did leave him with a deep slash on his back.

He headed to urgent care and was given 25 stitches.

"I pushed my luck a little bit too far. I probably shouldn't have paddled out," Eveland admitted.

"I should've paddled in after that last wave. And now I learned from that, you know, chalk it up to a learning experience and a cool story," he added.

The following morning, another surfer on New Smyrna Beach encountered the deadly predator.

He had jumped off a wave close to the jetty and came face-to-face with a shark.

Gavin Naylor, director of the University of Florida's Program for Shark Research, said that the victim.

"A bite on the face is really rotten luck, and I feel bad for the guy," he said.

The expert believes that the shark was responding to unwanted stimuli.

"If he landed on it, then the shark probably felt sort of violated, turned round and responded and bit him on the face."

Eveland was one of many surfers who wanted to enjoy the high surf triggered by Hurricane Lee last week.

Now, he has a piece of advice for anyone out in the ocean.

"When those mullet pods are coming down the beach, your best bet is to get out and wait for them to pass, and then you can get back out and get some more waves," he said.

Sharks feed on silver mullet in the shallow waters, which can be a good indicator that the predator is nearby.

https://www.the-sun.com/