A 13-year-old fishing with his dad got 27 staples and 17 stitches when a barracuda grazed the teen as it flew into their boat. The incident happened Sunday when the father and son were about 18 miles off Ponce Inlet.

The teen’s father, Irwin King, said it happened in the blink of an eye. The teen spotted the fish and they decided to catch it. The barracuda bit the hook and that’s when it flew into the boat. The barracuda's teeth grazed the teen's bicep and chest, making him bleed.

They were too far away from shore to get proper cell phone reception and couldn’t immediately call 911. King said it took more than half an hour to get back to land. The boat ride back was very difficult emotionally.

“I was really… I thought… I was waiting for him to start turning pale because of the amount of blood and everything else," King said. "I mean, all I could think of was he’s going to die on me. I would have lost it. I don’t know what I would have done.”

The teen is recovering well and King said his son plans to get back on the water as early as this weekend.

A Florida Fish and Wildlife researcher said barracudas are not uncommon and that the fish, which can grow to around six feet in length, is seen in greater numbers along the state’s eastern coast.