Justin Stuller loves the ocean. As he does every year, he went lobster fishing off the coast of Stock Island, in Florida, United States. To catch the crustacean, you have to dive in and grab it as it came out of its hole. Child's play for the American man, who is an experienced diver. But this time, things didn't go as planned... He was attacked by a shark!
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USA Today reported that, while he was underwater, Justin Stuller spotted an injured wrasse. It appeared to have been harpooned by a fisherman. So he tried to grab the fish, but before he got the chance to put it on his boat, he realized how small it was and decided to let it go. That's when a 2.5-meter-long lemon shark pounced on him and bit his right knee.
At that point, the diver's friends hurried to get Justin Stuller's wife and her three children, who were swimming nearby, out of the water, and get him back on the boat. His friends helped him disinfect the wound and bandaged him before they all headed back to the coast to take him to the hospital, where he got 24 stitches and 12 wound closure strips.
Upset he can't get back in the water
As insane as it might sound, this accident didn’t dampen his love of the ocean. In an interview with the Miami Herald:
I tied it off and actually lost very little blood. It was pretty deep, but no bone. I was very lucky, no tendons. I’ve got nothing against the shark, no ill will. Right place, wrong time. I was more angry I couldn’t go in the water the next day.
While he waits for his wound to heal, he's been appointed captain of his family's boat. Apparently, he's a little upset he can't take a dip in the water!
It's safe to say that Justin Stuller is quite the fearless chap. In fact, 10 years ago, he was bitten by an alligator right after he got his hunting license. His left leg was bitten as he tried to catch the alligator.
