Man hospitalized after shark attack off Southern California coast

A man has been hospitalized after a shark attack Sunday in Del Mar, California.

The 46-year-old male victim sustained "injuries that are significant but not believed to be life-threatening" including bites on the torso, left arm and hand, according to a press release by the city.

The unidentified victim was a part of a group of swimmers who were training approximately 100 yards offshore from the beach north of Torrey Pines State Park.

The type of shark involved in the attack was not identified in the press release; juvenile white sharks are known to swim in the waters surrounding the state park.

A two-mile area around the location of the attack has been closed to swimmers and surfers until 9 a.m. local time on Tuesday.

Shark bites by the numbers

Sixty-nine unprovoked shark bites were reported by the University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File in 2023, up six over the five-year average.

Two people died in the United States after shark bites in 2023, one in California and one in Hawaii. Four people were killed in shark attacks in Australia. One death each was confirmed in the Bahamas, Egypt, Mexico and New Caledonia.

There were 16 attacks with bites reported in Florida, with eight of those attacks in Volusia County home of Daytona Beach and New Smyrna Beach. That area has long been dubbed "the shark bite capital of the world." 

In addition to the fatality in Hawaii, there were seven other bite attacks. Three such attacks were reported in North Carolina, two in South Carolina and two in California, including the fatality.

Four bite attacks occurred in New York, including one in New York City. One attack was reported in New Jersey.

The 36 bite attacks reported in the U.S. were about 52% of the worldwide total.

Elsewhere, bite attacks were reported in Costa Rica, Colombia, Brazil, New Zealand, Seychelles, Turks and Caicos, Ecuador’s Galápagos Islands and South Africa.