Florida fisherman Marlin Wakeman was attacked after falling into shark-infested water at a marina in the Bahamas

US News

From Richard Pollina

A Florida fisherman is “lucky” to be alive after he fell into shark-infested waters in the Bahamas last month and was attacked, suffering a wound just inches from his artery.

Marlin Wakeman, 24, was at the Flying Fish Marina on Long Island on April 26 when he tried to jump to the docked boat he was working on.

Wakeman told NBC News that he “always kind of thought about his fear” of falling into the water.

“Me and my buddies were talking about, man, if you fall in here, you’re done. They won’t even have a second to really react,” Wakeman said Thursday at a news conference at St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach

The waters surrounding the marina are a constant feeding frenzy for at least 20 sharks as fishermen dump fish carcasses into the water.

The young fisherman noted that the water was so infested with Caribbean reef sharks that “you could almost walk on your head.”

Wakeman slipped from the dock into the water when the underwater predators attacked and bit him twice.

“When I landed in the water, I pretty much knew what was going to happen,” he remembers. “And when he bit me, I knew what was happening. I didn’t have any doubts for a second.”

Wakeman recalled that a first shark tried to pull him under before letting go, and he “was very lucky that it didn’t shake its head or hold on for a while.”

As the 24-year-old was about to reach the surface, a second shark clung to his shoulder.

“You really don’t feel your teeth going in,” he said, noting that the second bite felt more like a “punch.”

The experienced fisherman pulled himself out of the water and onto his boat when the second shark released him from its mouth.

“I had so much adrenaline running through my body that it was kind of like fight or flight,” he told the outlet.

He noted the severity of his injuries aboard the boat and saw that his leg was “kind of, you know, completely mangled.”

The boat captain jumped into action and attached a tourniquet to Wakeman’s leg.

He was treated at a clinic in the Bahamas before being flown to St. Mary’s, where he has been recovering since the near-death experience.

Florida doctors said a shark punctured Wakeman’s kneecap and nearly missed his artery.

“I’ve dealt with this a lot, and I’ve seen some people who don’t have it,” said Dr. Robert Borrego according to NBC News. “When I hear the story, it shocks me that he was able to get out of that water.”

The trauma surgeon estimated the shark’s length at about 7 feet based on the size of the bite mark.

Borrego said he expects a full recovery.

The 24-year-old said he would return to the Bahamas and the water once he completes rehabilitation following the traumatic attack.

“Maybe I’ll have a few nightmares here or there, but I’ll be fine,” Wakeman said.

With post wires