Man bitten by shark while spearfishing in the Florida Keys

By Shawn Nottingham, CNN

(CNN) — A man was recovering Monday after being bitten by a shark off Key West in Florida, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department said.

The victim was spearfishing along a reef when he was bitten on the leg Monday afternoon, the sheriff’s department said in a news release.

He was brought to shore and airlifted to a Miami hospital where he was alert and responsive, the sheriff’s department said. His condition was unclear at the time of the news release, authorities said.

Several people have been bitten in shark attacks in Texas and Florida since the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

Shark activity is typically at its peak in Florida waters between April and October, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

“Yet shark bites still remain very rare,” the commission said.

“Humans are 30 times more likely to be struck by lightning in Florida than to be bitten by a shark. Experts agree that the increase in the number of shark bites in recent years is more related to an increase in human visitors than to an increase in shark populations or activity.”

While the risk of being bitten by a shark is extremely low, Florida regularly tops the list of US states for the number of unprovoked shark bites each year, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History’s annual shark attack report.

CNN’s Kaila Nichols contributed to this report.

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