During a safety stop off Destin in the U.S. state of Florida, the spearfisher Matthew Piendak unexpectedly received company. Three sharks repeatedly approached him in open water from different directions. Piendak held his harpoon between himself and the animals and pushed them away when they came particularly close. A boat eventually reached him and took him out of the water. He was not bitten and remained uninjured.
Piendak published the footage himself in a public Facebook Reel. In his caption, he writes that three sharks had crowded him during his safety stop and that he had to fend them off until the boat arrived. The video shows the encounter from his perspective.
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More InformationThree sharks during the safety stop
A safety stop is a short pause during ascent, usually at a shallow depth. It is intended to give the body extra time to release dissolved nitrogen and thus reduce the risk of decompression sickness. A diver cannot simply skip this pause arbitrarily without taking into account their previous depth and dive time.
According to a detailed account of Piendak’s experience, the encounter took place on July 11, 2026, about twelve miles southeast of the Destin Jetties in the Gulf of Mexico. On his final dive of the day, Piendak had caught a fish and sent it to the surface with a buoy. During the subsequent ascent, he first noticed one shark beneath him; two more joined later.
In the footage, the sharks swim directly towards the diver several times. Piendak keeps turning continuously to keep an eye on the animals and uses the harpoon as a barrier. In the visible frame, he does not shoot at the sharks. When one of the animals approaches quickly, he pushes it away with the tip or shaft of the harpoon.
No bites and no injuries
OutKick reported that the boat reached Piendak before any of the sharks could bite. He came out of the water without injuries. Therefore, the incident is not a documented shark bite. The designation as an “attack” comes from Piendak’s own caption and from several media headlines; the video mainly shows repeated, very close approaches and active defensive movements.
The species identification also remains unclear. Some reports describe the animals as bull sharks, while others consider sandbar sharks possible. An independent confirmation by experts has not been published. Haitauchen therefore does not treat either identification as confirmed.
Why spearfishing can influence behavior
When spearfishing, blood, body fluids, and the movements of injured fish can attract sharks from the surrounding area. Even if the catch has already been sent to the surface with a buoy, scent trails and previous activity can persist. This does not automatically mean that a shark considers humans as prey. The animals may be interested in the catch, respond to competition, or investigate the situation.
The encounter is reminiscent of another documented case in which a spearfisher off Réunion fended off two approaches by a bull shark and remained unharmed. In both cases, the harpoon served as a barrier. However, the events cannot be directly compared because the location, species identification, visibility, and behavior of the animals were different.
Stay calm and keep the animals in view
Piendak’s video shows how difficult such a situation can become during a mandatory ascent stop. He stayed oriented, kept the animals in sight as best as possible, and held a solid object between himself and the sharks. At the same time, help was reachable at the surface.
No general rule of conduct can be derived from a single video. However, the documented outcome is clear: three sharks approached the spearfisher, Piendak fended off the animals, the boat picked him up, and no one was injured.