But somewhere in the murky water lurked a strand of flesh-eating bacteria, Vibrio vulnificus. It came in contact with a cut on Funk’s leg, and within hours he began to feel ill.

The infection moved rapidly. Days later, ulcerated and full of lesions, it was “like something out of a horror movie,” his wife, Marcia, told the newspaper. The flesh-eating bacteria was in his bloodstream.

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“The bacterium can invade the bloodstream, causing a severe and life-threatening illness with symptoms like fever, chills, decreased blood pressure (septic shock) and blistering skin lesions,” according to the Florida Department of Health’s vibriosis page. “Aggressive attention should be given to the wound site; for patients with wound infections, amputation of the infected limb is sometimes necessary.”

Doctors diagnosed vibriosis quickly, and Funk was flown to a shock trauma hospital in Baltimore, where doctors amputated his leg. But it was too late. He died Sept. 15, four days after cleaning out the crab pots.

The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is investigating the matter, the newspaper reported, but hasn’t issued an advisory. In 2014, officials issued a warning during a state-record outbreak in the Chesapeake Bay.

Vibrio vulnificus occurs naturally in brackish, warm water with low salinity — the same kind of water that’s ideal for shellfish and oysters.

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A recent study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has shown that “rising ocean temperatures related to global warming “is strongly associated with spread of vibrios, an important group of marine prokaryotes, and emergence of human diseases caused by these pathogens.”

To determine the bacteria’s growth, researchers used collections of plankton to determine how prevalent the microorganisms were.

“In eight out of nine regions of the North Atlantic, the study found that as temperatures warmed, numbers of vibrio bacteria also grew,” The Washington Post’s Chris Mooney wrote in August. Furthermore, it also showed a relationship between growing vibrio numbers and growing vibrio cases in humans, a relationship that was particularly pronounced during heat waves.

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“So in sum, it’s more evidence supporting [coral reef scientist Jeremy] Jackson’s point: We don’t just damage the oceans with impunity. Rather, from harm to fisheries to direct human health threats, that damage hurts us, too.”

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