Teen bitten by shark while surfing at a South Jersey beach

A 15-year-old Pennsylvania girl was bitten by a shark while surfing in Stone Harbor, N.J., on Sunday, according to rescue officials.

The teen suffered lacerations to her left foot and calf and was taken to the hospital, where she was treated for non-life-threatening injuries, authorities said.

First responders said the teen was attacked around 3 p.m. in the waters off the 109th Street Beach. After consulting with local marine life experts, law enforcement and medical officials confirmed the bites were consistent with those from a shark, but they did not determine its size or species.

No restrictions on beach activities in Stone Harbor are planned at this time.

“Stone Harbor remains a beloved and popular destination for beachgoers from near and far,” Stone Harbor Mayor Judy Davies-Dunhour said in a statement. “The local police and fire departments are fully committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of both residents and tourists. They are taking appropriate measures to thoroughly assess the situation and provide necessary updates to the public.”

The attack comes as beachgoers across the region prepare to spend Memorial Day weekend at the Jersey Shore. Stone Harbor officials stressed that despite the scare, shark attacks remain rare in the state.

Shark attack records shows that since the late 1800s, around 25 unprovoked incidents have occurred in New Jersey.

The last recorded unprovoked attack in New Jersey came in 2017, when a woman suffered a minor hand injury from a two-foot sand tiger shark in Ventnor. In 2013, a 16-year-old boy was attacked in Bay Head, Ocean County, but avoided injury when the shark bit his swimming fin, according to data from the Shark Research Institute.

Stone Harbor officials said Monday that the chances of falling victim to a shark attack are 1 in 11.5 million. Though chances are slim, Jaws-inspired anxieties swelled last year as shark sightings were reported up and down the Northeast coast.

That includes Sea Isle City. Thanks to video captured by a boat of startled fishermen, beachgoers were abuzz from footage of an estimated 12-foot, 1,000-pound great white shark that surfaced in July 2022.

Still, actual shark attacks that year were tied for a 10-year low, experts say. Of the 57 unprovoked bites recorded globally in 2022, five were fatal. And when it comes to geography, Florida took the top spot for attacks with 16 incidents in its waters.

Marine biologists have pointed to a handful of reasons for why so many spotted sharks close to Northeastern shores in recent years.

Warming sea temperatures due to global climate change are possibly pushing some sharks to migrate to northern waters, one expert speculated. Other theories give credit to human-enacted protections, such as shark sanctuaries and fin hunting bans, that have helped shark populations recover from decades of overfishing.