JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — A man visiting Florida from Oklahoma on Tuesday says he caught several sharks during a trip to Jacksonville Beach.
Justin Norton told Action News Jax he caught one that was at least 5 feet. The sharks he caught were kept in the water and were released unharmed.
Photos and videos he shared with Action News Jax show him standing along the beach’s shoreline when he reeled in the sharks.
Norton returned to the beach Tuesday evening and caught and released another shark, just 50 yards from the shoreline.
It’s not the first time we’ve seen a shark at our area beaches.
In 2019, we reported when a fisherman drew crowds on Atlantic Beach when he caught a 5-foot blacktip shark and dragged it onto the sand, before releasing it back into the ocean.
That same year, a surfer was bitten by a shark at Jacksonville Beach.
Though that surfer was bitten by a shark, according to a statement on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s website, it’s “extremely unlikely for a person to be bitten or attacked by a shark in Florida waters, and attacks are rarely life threatening.”
The FWC recommends staying in groups, avoid being in the water at night, and to not get in the water with a bleeding wound. Read more steps to keep yourself safe from sharks at the beach here.
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