Surf instructor bitten on foot by shark in Atlantic waters off New Smyrna Beach

Photos for Headline Surfer / TOP: The beach was still packed just before 5 p.m. on Friday, July 18, 2025, New Beach, Florida, as shown in this screenshot from a beach cam off of the Flagler Avenue approach looking south. Few people, if any, were aware that five hours earlier, a surf instructor was bitten on the foot by a shark. BELOW: Tammy Malphurs, director of Volusia County Beach Safety Ocean Rescue 

By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- A shark in New Smyrna Beach attacked an 18-year-old surf instructor on Friday, biting him in the foot.

The victim was transported to a local hospital, where he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries, Tammy Malphurs, director of Volusia County Beach Safety Ocean Rescue, told Headline Surfer in an email alert.

"At approximately 12 p.m. today, an 18-year-old male from New Smyrna Beach sustained a shark bite on his foot while surfing in New Smyrna Beach at 1101 N the Beach," Malphurs said. "The individual was transported for medical treatment with non-life-threatening injuries." This is the fourth shark bite in New Smyrna Beach in 2025 and the second this month, Marris added. 

Tamra Marris, director, Volusia County Beach Safety / Headline SurferThe victim was transported to a local hospital, where he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries, Tamra Marris, director of Volusia County Beach Safety Ocean Rescue, told Headline Surfer in an email alert.

"At approximately 12 p.m. today, an 18-year-old male from New Smyrna Beach sustained a shark bite on his foot while surfing in New Smyrna Beach at 1101 N the Beach," Marris said. "The individual was transported for medical treatment with non-life-threatening injuries." This is the fourth shark bite in New Smyrna Beach in 2025 and the second this month, Marris added. 

On July 6, a 40-year-old Winter Park man was transported to Halifax Health after being bitten by a shark while surfing in New Smyrna Beach. The man was bitten on his right forearm as he swam in the ocean just south of the jetty. 

Named the 'Shark Bite Capital of the World,' there have been more than 300 shark bite attacks in New Smyrna Beach and area beaches in Volusia County since the 1880s, though none were fatal.

Henry Frederick press card / Headline SurferAbout the Byline Writer: 

Henry Frederick is an award-winning journalist who launched Headline Surfer in 2008. The site serves the greater Daytona Beach, Sanford, and Orlando areas along the I-4 corridor and beyond via HeadlineSurfer.com in Lake Mary, Florida. Frederick earned his Master of Arts in New Media Journalism from Full Sail University in Orlando in 2019. He was a breaking news reporter (metro cops & courts beat) for the Daytona Beach News-Journal for nearly a decade, and before that, the same beat with The Journal-News/Gannett Suburban Newspapers in Rockland/Westchester counties, NY, dating back to 1989. He's also worked as a city editor and city hall reporter for two dailies. Having witnessed the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Florida's death chamber and covering other high-profile cases, Frederick has appeared on national crime documentary shows on Discovery ID, Reelz & the Oxygen Network series "Snapped" for his analysis. Assisting Henry Frederick with Headline Surfer is Sera King, who writes about the weather and feature stories, takes photos, shoots video, and occasionally draws editorial cartoons. •  Bio: https://henryfrederick.com/.