A 40-year-old diver is expected to make a full recovery after being bitten by a shark during a diving and spearfishing trip approximately 30 nautical miles off Pensacola, Florida.
The incident happened on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, while the unidentified man was diving with three other people from Mississippi.
FOX10/WALA initially reported that Coast Guard Station Pensacola received a distress call over VHF Channel 16 at approximately 4:53 p.m.
The diver remained conscious but had suffered injuries resulting in substantial blood loss. A 45-foot Coast Guard response boat carrying three emergency medical technicians was dispatched to meet the group’s vessel.
The two boats met approximately 5.5 nautical miles south of Pensacola Pass. The injured diver was transferred to the Coast Guard vessel and transported to Naval Air Station Pensacola, where a medical helicopter was waiting to fly him to Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital.
Captain describes the rescue
Boat captain Jacob Johnson has since provided a firsthand account of the incident.
Johnson said the group had travelled from Gautier, Mississippi, for a day of diving. He had encountered several sharks during earlier dives, including one that bit his speargun while he was descending.
During the final dive of the day, Johnson heard his friend calling for help and saw him in the water surrounded by blood.
Johnson entered the water, removed the injured man’s diving equipment and helped push him aboard because injuries to both forearms prevented him from climbing onto the boat unaided.
Those aboard used clotting material, clothing, zip ties and improvised tourniquets to control the bleeding while another member of the group contacted the Coast Guard.
According to Johnson, one bite damaged an artery in one of the diver’s forearms. The other forearm required dozens of stitches.
The diver has undergone surgery and is recovering in hospital. Doctors expect him to make a full recovery. He has asked not to be publicly identified.
Diving activity and shark identification
The captain described the group’s trip as involving diving and spearfishing. However, the available reporting does not explicitly establish whether the injured man was using scuba equipment or freediving when he was bitten.
Johnson identified the shark as a bull shark and reported encountering bull sharks during the group’s earlier dives. His account represents a credible eyewitness identification, but no confirmation from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission or an independent shark specialist has been published.
A previously reported estimate that the shark weighed approximately 300 pounds also remains unverified.
The most accurate description at this stage is that the man was bitten by a shark during a diving and spearfishing trip, with the bull-shark identification attributed directly to the boat captain.
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