A 40-year-old spear fisherman suffered severe bites to both arms when a bull shark, estimated at 300lb, attacked him during his final dive of the day near Pensacola, off Florida's Emerald Coast. His diving companions, including boat captain Jacob Johnson, quickly pulled him from the water and used tourniquets and wound-sealing gel to stem the bleeding while waiting for the Coast Guard, an intervention credited with saving his life given that one arm had a damaged artery. The incident highlights the ongoing risks bull sharks pose to divers, given the species' reputation for aggression towards humans.

The victim, who has not been named, required dozens of stitches and underwent surgery, with doctors expecting a full recovery, though a GoFundMe page notes he cannot currently work and faces months of recuperation. Johnson said the group had experienced unusually high shark activity that day, including an earlier incident in which a bull shark bit his spear gun without causing injury. According to Shark Data Lab, Florida has recorded 1,186 shark attacks since 1780, 44 of them fatal, with bull sharks the species most frequently involved; the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission notes they can grow to 11ft and are considered more dangerous than white or tiger sharks by some experts.