A British man vacationing in the Caribbean is in stable condition after he was attacked by a shark in Tobago on Friday morning.
The man, identified by the BBC as 64-year-old Peter Smith, was seriously injured in Turtle Beach waters near the Starfish hotel in Courland Bay, on the west side of the island.
When he was attacked by what local officials believe was a bull shark, Smith’s wife said two of their friends stayed in the water to “battle the shark” in an attempt to save Peter.
Jo Smith said her husband suffered “damage to his left arm and leg, puncture wounds to the abdomen and injuries to his right hand.”
He was brought to the island’s Scarborough General Hospital for treatment. According to Jo, Peter is “aware of what is happening and is able to communicate a little, although he is still under strong medication.”
Officials in Tobago also revealed Peter had some fingers severed during the attack, though they were reattached at the hospital.
The Tobago House of Assembly estimated the bull shark was 10 feet long (about three metres) and two feet wide (less than one metre).
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The government closed seven beaches and a marine park in the area after the attack as a precautionary measure. Starfish’s water sports manager Orion Jakerov told local news outlet TTT Live no one saw the shark approach Peter in the “waist-deep” water.
“Even while the shark was around and doing the attack, the other people in the water were physically trying to fight off the shark,” he recounted.
The Tobago House of Assembly initially offered a TT$10,000 (about C$2,000) reward for the successful capture of the shark that attacked Peter. Chief Secretary Farley Augustine later retracted the reward.
Peter and Jo Smith were scheduled to leave Tobago and return to the U.K. on the day of the shark attack.
Bull sharks are highly territorial and are known to be aggressive towards humans, making them one of the most dangerous species of shark in the world. They are found in coastal waters all over the world and can survive in fresh water for long periods of time.
Shark attacks are rare. In 2023, the International Shark Attack File reported 69 unprovoked shark bites and 10 fatal unprovoked shark bites, an uptick compared with previous years. An additional 22 attacks last year were intentionally or unintentionally provoked.
According to the BBC, there have been only two recorded shark attacks as far south as Tobago in the last 20 years — and neither of those attacks occurred within 320 kilometres of the island itself.
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