MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — Editor's note: The shark used as the main image for this article was not the one involved in the incident.
A man is recovering at a hospital after he was attacked by a shark in Manatee County, officials say.
The man, who is described as being in his early 20s, was bitten in the lower leg by the shark near Bean Point on the north end of Anna Maria Island, a spokesperson for the West Manatee Fire Rescue told 10 Tampa Bay on Sunday evening.
After he was attacked, someone who was with the man applied a tourniquet to his injury, fire rescue says.
The man was then reportedly brought into Kingfish Boat ramp where he was transported by Manatee County emergency medical services to a hospital.
"His condition is unknown at this time and we are uncertain as to the type of shark or circumstances leading up to the bite," the spokesperson for West Manatee Fire Rescue said in a statement.
The investigation of the shark bite remains ongoing, officials say.
Bob Heuter, chief scientist at Ocearch, has been studying sharks for more than 50 years.
"I doubt that shark was really going for the person because they simply don't do that," Heuter said.
While unconfirmed by officials, Heuter suspects the diver may have been spearfishing.
"When a spear fisherman shoots a fish, the fish sends out the kind of stimuli that the shark interprets as the dinner bell ringing," Heuter said. "On the other hand, if this fellow was diving and he wasn't spearfishing, this would be a pretty rare incident."
Heuter said this marks the sixth recorded shark bite off of Manatee County, and that the shark involved was likely a bull shark.
"This is the species that will sometimes go for a fish that a spear fisherman has shot and the person will get in the way and they'll get a leg or an arm bitten. It happened just a couple of months ago in the same area," Heuter said. "[Bull sharks] are actually increasing in numbers because we've been rebuilding the shark population over the last 30 years."
Shark encounters have been making headlines lately in Florida, so what should you do if ever spot a shark while out in the water?
Although shark bites are uncommon, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says there are some ways to reduce the risk of being bitten or attacked, such as always staying in groups since sharks are more likely to bite a solitary individual and not wandering too far from the shore.
Get the full list of tips here.
In 2022, there were a total of 57 confirmed unproved cases worldwide, according to the Florida Museum. The website says that the U.S. leads the world in the number of unproved bites in the world with Florida being the state with the most bites.
10 Tampa Bay's BriShon Mitchell contributed to this report.