Shark bite victim remains hospitalized days after Del Mar attack – NBC 7 San Diego

A 46-year-old swimmer was still being treated in hospital on Wednesday after he was bitten by a shark while swimming with a group in Del Mar over the weekend.

Caleb Adams was taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla immediately after the attack to be treated for serious injuries to his upper body and left hand and arm. Adams’ wife told NBC 7 Tuesday night that her husband is still in the hospital but recovering from his injuries.

Adams was swimming with a group of about a dozen people who meet regularly for training in Del Mar. At about 9 a.m., he was about 100 yards from the lifeguard tower on 17th Street north of Powerhouse Park when the shark bit him, the city of Del Mar said.

Jenna Veal, a friend of the victim who was just feet away from the attack, told NBC’s “TODAY” that the victim punched the shark in the face.

“He was incredibly conscious and brave. I mean, he was really fighting for his life on several fronts today, starting with being bumped and bitten by the shark and then punching it in the face and then he was still able to call for help,” the eyewitness said. “Then once we got all the way to shore, he was able to answer questions. Where we were, what the date was. He said, ‘Could you call my wife? Here’s her phone number.'”

Lifeguards closed off a section of Del Mar Beach after the attack. The signs were removed 48 hours later, which is standard practice after incidents like Sunday’s.

Researchers at Cal State University Long Beach’s Shark Lab are using DNA samples to learn more about the presence of sharks in the area following the attack.

“We were able to recover the victim’s wetsuit and take some swabs along the bite wounds to get DNA,” Merson said. “At the same time, we’re taking water samples right here on the beach to see if we can also find DNA from great white sharks, just from the area, and if we can find out how long this individual shark has been in the area.”

Merson said Del Mar Beach is a breeding ground for juvenile great white sharks, which is why they stay there for extended periods of time. About 60 juvenile great white sharks have been tagged in the area since 2020, and about four of those sharks were spotted around the time of Sunday’s incident.

Merson says it will probably take about a month before they can determine if they can actually detect great white shark DNA in the water. Identifying this specific shark will take even longer because they need enough DNA to identify that specific shark.

Juvenile great white sharks feed primarily on stingrays, umbrines and flatfish, all small creatures that live on the sea floor. It is rare for them to go after anything shaped like a seal or sea lion – like a human, says Merson.

“It may have been an incident of curiosity. Sharks don’t have hands like we do, so when they come across unknown objects in their territory, they must investigate them with their mouths,” Merson said.