ANNA MARIA ISLAND, Fla. — A man in his early 20s was bitten in the lower leg by a shark near Bean Point on the north end of Anna Maria Island on Sunday, according to the West Manatee Fire Rescue District.

The incident happened at around 3:30 p.m.

The Manatee fire marshal said the victim got into the water from a boat and did not wade in from an Anna Maria Island Beach.

The boater rushed the victim to the Kingfish ramp so he could be taken to a hospital.

He was in the water off the northern tip of Anna Maria Island when he was bitten on the lower leg.

It’s not known if the man was scuba diving or spear fishing at the time.

Fire Marshal Rodney Kwiatowksi said someone on the boat applied a tourniquet and added that getting to shore quickly and managing blood less are key priorities.

“Under the circumstances, they probably made the right decision,” he said. “A tourniquet is probably the last thing that you would want to do in the order of operations in order to stop bleeding, but it certainly, likely could’ve saved his life.”

The man was taken to Blake Hospital, which hasn’t released his condition.

According to the Florida Museum of Natural History’s international shark attack file, Florida had 16 cases last year, which represents about 39 percent of unprovoked bites worldwide. That’s actually lower than Florida’s most recent five-year average of 22 incidents.

The fire marshal said people should not go into the water alone, or at dusk or dawn when shark activity is greater. People also shouldn't swim in areas where lots of fishing is going on.

“I’ve heard some reports that people were disappointed that we weren’t clearing the beach, but this gentleman was not on the beach. They were out north of Bean Point,” said Kwiatowski.