Man recounts being attacked by bull shark while spear fishing in Gulf
LONG BEACH, Miss. (WLOX) - A local spear fisherman got more than he bargained for during a recent trip to the Gulf of Mexico.
On June 29, Wesley Fayard endured a bull shark attack while he and his DeepWater Mafia dive club friends were bringing in red snapper about 50 miles south of Pascagoula.
“It happened really fast,” Fayard said about the experience.
“[I was] about 100 feet down and had a couple of fish on my Stringer, and [the shark] wanted them — obviously — as bad or worse than I did,” Fayard said. “And so I didn’t see him. You know, it didn’t have a warning, just kind of turned around and there he was and he came in after the fish and mistakenly got a hold of my hand, ripped me up pretty good.”
Fayard credits a local doctor for responding so quickly and tending to the wound.
“You know what? The blood wasn’t that bad, and so I did get myself about a minute to decompress, got back on the boat and the Lord put a doctor on the boat. I didn’t even know the guy was a doctor. He was first time diving with him and he immediately just got a towel, got pressure on the wound, and sat by my side.”
Fayard also credits not only the DeepWater Mafia team, but also the Bureau of Marine Resources and other first responders for getting him out of the toothy situation.
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