Fisherman bitten by shark as he returns the struggling predator to the ocean

During the July Fourth weekend, a fisherman in a lavish beach vacation area found himself in serious trouble after an encounter with a shark he had hooked. Nature displayed its fury as he attempted to handle the situation.

A 21-year-old man in Nantucket caught a common sandbar shark on Sunday and reeled it onto shore, according to the Nantucket Current.

When he attempted to return the shark to the ocean, it bit him on the leg, causing a serious injury.

His friends acted quickly, taking him to a nearby hospital. From there, he was airlifted by a Boston Medflight helicopter to a larger hospital on the mainland for more comprehensive treatment.

As the summer beach season is in full effect nationwide, instances of shark bites are increasingly being reported. 

On the same day, in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, a surfer named Matthew Bender from Winter Park, Florida, also encountered a shark attack. The 40-year-old received a profound 10-inch bite, which damaged muscles, tendons, and nerves, but he managed to survive the ordeal.

New Smyrna Beach is known as the “shark bite capital” of the United States, according to “Shark Week” host Forrest Galante, who recently spoke with Fox News Digital about summer safety tips for avoiding negative encounters with sharks. 

On June 11, a 9-year-old girl snorkeling off the coast of Boca Grande, Florida, on the state’s Gulf Coast, sustained a gruesome shark bite that nearly severed her hand.

Leah Lendel was rushed by helicopter to Tampa General Hospital, where she underwent a successful surgery involving artery grafts, bone reconstruction and nerve repair to save her hand. 

Later in June, a beachgoer was injured in an attack on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, another popular tourist destination for summer getaways. 

That incident “involved a patient with a leg injury consistent with lacerations typically associated with a shark bite,” according to Hilton Head Fire Rescue. 

Galante warned that the ocean is a shark’s domain. 

“Now, a lot of people fear them, and they see them as mindless killing machines, but the truth is, these are just animals that sit at the top of the food chain,” he said. “And any time that we enter into the water, we’re entering into their domain. So, when there is a shark attack or a shark bite, that is simply because we have gone into a habitat where we as human beings don’t really belong, and we’re not the apex predator.”