South Carolina surfer bit by shark in the face off Florida’s New Smyrna Beach

A shark bit a man in the face while he was surfing at a Florida beach on Tuesday morning, according to local reports.

The 38-year-old surfer from South Carolina was bitten just before 8 a.m. at the inlet in New Smyrna Beach — where most shark bites in the area occur, WESH reported.

The man was taken to the Halifax Health trauma center and was released by Tuesday evening.

Veteran surfer Ron Robinson said he arrived at the inlet shortly after the man had been bitten and saw him taken away in an ambulance.

He told WESH he learned the shark bit the man on the right side of his cheek, between his ear and eye when he hopped off his board after riding a wave.

“Nine out of 10 times it’s because they’ll fall in the shallow water, and they’ll spook the shark, and it’s a reaction bite,” Robinson said.

Aerial footage from the scene later in the day revealed several sharks lurking in the water near the jetty as well as multiple surfers not too far away.

The jetty generates pristine surfing waves and traps schools of bait fish that the sharks devour, according to WESH. 

Locals and experts alike agree that most shark bites are a result of sharks mistaking people in the water for the fish.

Most shark bites in Volusia County are not life-threatening and though there have been seven shark bites in the county this year, there have been no fatalities in recent memory, the station reported.

The sharks certainly aren’t keeping local surfers out of the water.

“That’s like saying there’s bad drivers on I-4. We know they’re out there. The sharks are out there. It’s their backyard. You just try not to fall on them,” George Franco said.