Overview
- Peter Smith, 66, told the BBC he punched a bull shark while waist-deep off Turtle Beach/Courland Bay in April 2024.
- Friends John and Moira helped fend off the shark and, with his wife Joanna, got him to shore as he suffered major thigh, arm and abdominal wounds.
- Doctors at Tobago’s lone hospital quickly exhausted their blood supplies, prompting an air transfer to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.
- Surgeons performed multiple operations, including use of a shark-derived membrane to prepare a wound for skin grafting.
- Smith relearned to walk and still has nerve damage in his hand, and the International Shark Attack File lists his case as Tobago’s only recorded attack while experts note such events are rare.