{"id":341806,"date":"2026-07-16T06:11:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T06:11:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/341806\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T06:11:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T06:11:21","slug":"florida-spearfisherman-tells-story-of-fighting-off-three-bull-sharks-at-once","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/341806\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida Spearfisherman Tells Story of Fighting Off Three Bull Sharks at Once"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/p>\n

There\u2019s an image that strikes fear into the heart of any diver: the unmistakable shape of a shark<\/a> emerging from the underwater gloom. There\u2019s only one thing that\u2019s worse than encountering a curious shark, however \u2013 having to fend off three at once.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s exactly what happened to spearfisherman Matthew Piendak. The 35-year-old originally hails from Newington, Connecticut, but has made Destin, Florida his home since 2022. He\u2019s been diving and spearfishing for about a year, but on Saturday, July 11, he was 12 miles southeast of the Destin jetties when he had an encounter unlike anything he\u2019d ever seen before.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do multiple dives throughout the day to spearfish and it was definitely different compared to other days,\u201d he told The Inertia. \u201cThere was a shark on each dive, and I noticed they were more interested in me than normal.\u201d<\/p>\n

The incident, as seen in a video<\/a> posted to Piendak\u2019s social media, happened on the last dive of the day. He had just speared a fish and sent it up with a float and decided to head for the surface as well. To do that, he had to perform a three-minute \u201csafety stop,\u201d a precautionary measure in which divers pause partway on their ascent in order to get rid of the extra nitrogen that can lead to the bends. \u201cDuring the stop, I saw a shark underneath me, and didn\u2019t care too much about it,\u201d he described. \u201cI thought \u2018As long as it stays down there, I don\u2019t have to worry about it.’\u201d<\/p>\n

But it didn\u2019t stay down there. Out of the dark blue, he saw the unmistakable white chin of a bull shark heading straight for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cImmediately I said to myself, \u2018Well, here we go.\u2019 knowing he was going to come up to me,\u201d recounted Piendak. But it was still unclear what exactly the creature\u2019s intentions were \u2013 whether it was just curiosity or an actual attack. Then, from the periphery he saw another chin, and it became clear what was happening. \u201cI realized they were trying to set an attack on me,\u201d he wrote. \u201cAnd all I had was my rhino speargun to keep myself from the bull sharks.\u201d<\/p>\n

He immediately set about trying to protect himself. \u201cWhen the first bullshark moved to my left and continued getting closer, the second shark was then out of my eyesight, so I decided I needed to make a defensive move,\u201d he explained. \u201cI poked the first shark with my speargun and knew I needed to get eyes on the second one, along with my protective gun. Once I moved my head and gun, I saw him speeding up at me, and used the same technique to get the second one away.\u201d<\/p>\n

The third shark, which was the first he had originally seen on the way up, was less aggressive \u2013 turning quickly on its own, without prompting from the spear. However, Piendak still had to find a way to get out of the water.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter that, I realized they were swimming away, probably to regroup, so it gave me the time to get to the surface let the boat know I was dealing with sharks,\u201d he continued. \u201cI yelled for them once, and knew I had to get my head back in the water. As soon as I put my head back in, I saw one shark again trying to attack me, and put my speargun in between the shark and I. The shark turned and swam away. Again I yelled for the boat, and put my head back in the water. At that point I could see them retreating, but still visible, so I swam down a few feet to try to show them dominance. They then retreated for good and the boat quickly showed up. I resurfaced and told them \u2018Watch my six!\u2019 as I quickly tore off my fins to get back on the boat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though the ordeal was almost over, Piendak says that these final moments as he climbed up the ladder were the most stressful. \u201cI couldn\u2019t protect myself anymore,\u201d he said. \u201cI had to use my hands and feet to get back on the boat, leaving me shark bait if they wanted one last attempt. I quickly climbed back on the boat and felt safe. Finally.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the end, he emerged without a scratch \u2013 a miraculous turn of events for an encounter with one bull shark, let alone three. \u201cI owe a lot of credit to the gentleman on the boat getting to me. Brad, Micah, and Kristen,\u201d he added. \u201cAnd one person who I kept saying he indirectly saved my life, was Caleb. Before ascending, I was going to \u2018float\u2019 my gun up to the top so I didn\u2019t have to worry about it. Caleb, 120 feet under water, grabbed my gun and gave it back to me. If it wasn\u2019t for him, I would not have the one device that kept me between those sharks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Piendak was also careful to note that he did not blame the predators, nor would it keep him out of the water for long. \u201cI would also like to say sharks, of any kind, have never attacked me before, and generally they do not care about humans,\u201d he concluded. \u201cI did have two lionfish in a container on my hip, but have never had an issue with it until that day. My plan is to clean all of my gear thoroughly so there is no fish smell on them, and then continue diving. I love the sport, and look forward to being under water again soon doing what I love.\u201d<\/p>\n