A Florida fisherman miraculously survives after falling off his boat and being attacked by a shark

A Florida fisherman got too close to a shark and barely survived after falling into shark-infested water. Unfortunately for the fisherman, he was attacked by a shark that narrowly missed an artery. The incident occurred in the Bahamas.

24-year-old Marlin Wakeman was at the Flying Fish Marina on Long Island. He had mistimed it as he moved from the dock to a boat he was working on. The fisherman admitted that he was always afraid of falling into the water. It turns out that the waters surrounding the marina are known for their sharks. There are usually at least 20 sharks at any given time. This is because fishermen throw leftover fish into the water.

Essentially, it’s a feeding frenzy, and that’s the last thing you want to fall into. “My buddies and I were talking about, man, if you fall in here, you’re done. You won’t even have a second to really react,” Wakeman told NBC. The fisherman fell onto the jetty and fell into the water. The sharks immediately bit into him and bit him twice.

Florida fisherman attacked

“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 a second of doubt.” Wakeman said he was “really lucky he didn’t shake his head or hold on for a while.”

However, as he tried to surface, another shark bit him on the shoulder, describing it as a punch.

“You really don’t feel your teeth going in,” he said. Despite his injuries, he managed to get out of the water and onto the boat before he could be bitten again. “I had so much adrenaline running through my body that it was like fight or flight,” he told the outlet.

From there, he took stock of his injuries. The fisherman said his leg was “somehow completely mutilated.” The boat’s captain saved Wakeman’s life by tying a tourniquet. From there he was flown to St. Mary’s. The shark almost punctured the artery in his leg.

“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.”