A boy and girl, both 17, suffered bite wounds in the first reported attacks of the year but the injuries were not life threatening, Volusia County Beach Patrol said.

The boy was driven to a nearby hospital with cuts on his calf and the young girl was taken to the same hospital suffering from a bite to the ankle.
The pair, who were not part of the same group, had been surfing in waist-deep water in the same area on Wednesday afternoon when the attacks happened.

Local newspaper The Daytona Beach News-Journal said both victims described the shark as between 4ft and 5ft long, but authorities said it was unlikely that they were bitten by the same one.

The water was cleared after the attacks and officials said they would be monitoring the ocean for any signs of sharks in the coming days and close off areas as needed.

New Smyrna Beach, which is on the central east coast of Florida, has previously been voted the state's best beach but it has a long history of shark attacks.

It is now known as the shark bite capital of the world after frequent attacks each year and is said to have more reports of attacks per square mile than any other beach on Earth.

Part of the same stretch of sand had to be closed in 2001 after 10 shark attacks in just 10 days.

They usually involve black tip sharks, which inflict lesser injuries. A beach patrol official has previously described them as "like a vicious dog bite".

source: orange