We've had numerous beach closings in recent weeks due to sharks (spinners mostly I think) swarming the bait schools mitgrating along the coast.
Kiteboard surfer dies after shark attack off Stuart - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
Kiteboard surfer dies after shark attack off Stuart
STUART - A kiteboard surfer attacked by sharks Wednesday afternoon died from his injuries, according to the Martin County Sheriff's Office.
It was Martin County's first fatal shark attack, according to records going back to 1882.
About 4 p.m., a lifeguard was looking through his binoculars and saw Stephen Howard Schafer, 38, of Stuart, in distress about a quarter of a mile off shore from an unguarded beach just south of Stuart Beach, officials said.
When the lifeguard paddled out to Schafer, he was surrounded by sharks, officials said.
The lifeguard put Schafer on his rescue board and paddled to shore, where Schafer said he had been bitten by a shark, authorities said. He had multiple bite wounds.
Officials performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Schafer, and he was taken to Martin Memorial North Medical Center, where he died.
Schafer's friends said they are shocked by his death.
"I've never heard of multiple sharks in this area surrounding someone and fatally wounding him," said Teague Taylor, 36, a childhood friend. "He was the nicest person ever."
Normally, sharks appear in the area to eat migrating bait fish.
Taylor said he was surprised to see the sharks because they normally come around springtime. Taylor said he was surfing Tuesday near where his friend was attacked and saw several sharks.
"You always think in the back of your mind that [sharks] are out there," he said.
Jordan Schwartz, who has known Schafer for five years, said he was a very experienced kiteboard surfer.
"He was a super-nice guy, always mellow," Schwartz said. "I don't think he had any enemies."
It was unknown whether Stuart Beach would be open Thursday.
Prior to Wednesday's attack, the Treasure Coast's last fatal shark attack occurred Nov. 21, 1998, in Vero Beach. Authorities said James Willie Tellasmon, 9, was attacked by a shark north of Jaycee Beach. Tellasmon couldn't be found during a three-hour search that day. It wasn't until the next day that searchers found part of the boy's body, severed by a shark bite.
There have been about 14 deaths in Florida attributed to sharks, according to records provided by the University of Florida Museum of Natural History.