BOCA GRANDE —A minor shark attack took place on Monday when a Black Tip Shark bit a 55-year-old man.
Around 4 pm Charlotte County Fire & EMS responded to an emergency call for a shark bite near the Boca Grande Causeway at Placida. The Blacktip shark bit the man in the arm. Emergency workers treated him at the scene and transported him to a local hospital.
Blacktip sharks live in coastal waters off beaches, over coral reefs and in bays and estuaries.
Blacktip reef shark have occasionally been known to bite people that are swimming or wading but do not pose a serious threat to humans. The International Shark Attack File (ISAF) has recorded just 11 unprovoked blacktip reef shark bites on humans since 1959.