On Saturday, a 7-foot-long shark near Manhattan Beach, California, became agitated by a fisherman's hook. It apparently took out its frustration on Robles, who was swimming nearby.
"We saw each other. It did a sharp left turn and then it lunged right at me, didn't even hesitate," Robles said. He grabbed the shark's nose with his hand and tried to pry him off. Fortunately, the shark left on his own and darted away.
A witness' cell phone video posted by CNN affiliate KTLA showed Robles screaming loudly as fellow swimmers tried to help him to shore. Witnesses on the pier screamed that the shark was still close by.
All the swimmers in the water made it to shore safely. Police closed down the Manhattan Beach Pier, and it will remain closed until Tuesday.
While shark attacks are rare, they have increased at a steady rate since 1900 "with each decade having more attacks then the previous," according to the International Shark Attack File based in Gainesville, Florida.
But ISAF says there were 72 unprovoked shark attacks on humans in 2013 -- the lowest number of global attacks since 2009, when 67 attacks occurred.
The group emphasized that an increasing number of shark attacks doesn't mean the rate of attacks is increasing. ISAF research shows people are spending more time at sea, which increases the interactions between humans and sharks.
Just before the attack, Robles said he was planning another long-distance swim. But now he says he might never swim in the open water again.
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