Safety
Lowering your odds
None of this is about fear. It is the same handful of habits every local surfer here already has, and together they remove most of the conditions under which bites actually happen.
01
Stay out at dawn, dusk and after rain
Low light and runoff-clouded water are the two conditions that produce mistaken-identity strikes. Bites skew heavily toward early morning, late afternoon and the day after a storm.
02
Do not swim near the inlet or a bait school
Diving birds, flipping mullet and slicks of nervous bait mean predators are working underneath. Move a few hundred yards down the beach — that is usually enough.
03
Leave the jewellery on the towel
A flash of metal in murky water reads exactly like a baitfish scale. Same logic applies to bright, high-contrast nail polish and shiny fin tabs.
04
Swim in a group, and near a lifeguard tower
Volusia County Beach Safety posts flags and closes water when shark activity spikes. Almost every serious outcome anywhere in the world involves someone alone and far from help.
05
Keep your hands and feet still while you sit
Most bites here land on a dangling hand or foot next to a surfboard. Idle fluttering movement is the single most bait-like thing a human does in the water.
06
If you're bitten, get out and apply pressure
Direct firm pressure on the wound, get to the lifeguard tower, and go to the ER even if it looks minor — puncture wounds from a marine animal carry a real infection risk. Call 911 for any bleeding you cannot control.
This page is general information, not medical advice. In an emergency call 911 or flag the nearest Volusia County Beach Safety tower.