Updated

A surfer along Florida's coast is recovering after he was bitten on the hand by a shark.

The 32-year-old man told authorities he was paddling out at Melbourne Beach along the Atlantic Coast when he put his hand in the water and felt a bite.

His hand was treated by paramedics at the beach, and he didn't need to be taken to a hospital.

University of Florida shark expert George Burgess says the United States has had 30 unprovoked shark attacks, with half of them in Florida.

The surfer was not identified by authorities.