Click to see aerial video shot today of sharks via WPTV.

A 38-year-old kite surfer named Stephen Schafer was killed yesterday off the beach near Stuart, Florida, when a group of sharks surrounded and then attacked him. Shark experts speculated the pack was comprised of juvenile great whites.

Schafer

Schafer was about 500 yards from shore when he was struck. He was spotted in trouble by lifeguard Daniel Lund, who paddled a rescue board and found the sharks circling the kite surfer. Lund–who gets massive bravery points–put the bleeding Schafer on his board and paddled him to the beach, but Schafer died at Martin Memorial Medical Center of his injuries.

Hundreds of dorsal fins were spotted off the coast today, and authorities were considering closing beaches. Although Florida averages 24 attacks a year, it was the first fatal incident since 2005, when a 14-year-old girl was killed. The state leads the country in attacks by orders of magnitude, with more than 400 since 1990.

Recent dips in incidents are from lack of funding to log attacks. Source: Florida Museum of Natural History

Tagged as: surfing, wildlife