But the man's expected to make a full recovery.
Officials at Florida's Intercoastal Waterway say James Bertakis was in a small boat with two grandchildren when the spotted eagle stingray leapt aboard and struck him.
It left its poisonous barb lodged close to his heart.
TV personality and zoo owner Steve Irwin died at 44 when a stingray punctured his heart off Australia's north coast.
It's one of only a handful of stingray fatalities on record.