A 30-year-old surfer from Spain suffered an apparent shark bite on his thigh at Pua’ena Point on the North Shore yesterday.
A surf instructor assisted the man and tied a tourniquet on his leg.
The size and type of shark are currently unknown, but witnesses said they suspect it was a juvenile tiger shark that’s been hanging around the lineup, Hawaii News Now (HNN) reported.
HNN reporter Stephanie Lum posted the clip above, captioning it:
“A shark bit a surfer’s thigh this afternoon at Pua’ena Point in Haleiwa.
“Witnesses described it as a juvenile tiger shark that’s been frequenting the area.
“EMS says the 911 call came in just after 3 o’clock. The 30-year-old man from Spain was rushed to a hospital in serious condition. Ben Gutierrez has more.”
But witnesses say it could’ve been worse.
“Best worst-case scenario for getting a shark bite,” said surf instructor Zack Murphy, who applied the tourniquet and saw the shark’s jaw marks on the rental board.
On a North Shore community Facebook page for locals, a surfer who was there wrote:
“It was me and 4 people out at the peak and a big set wave broke a little further than we were sitting so basically everyone was off their boards after it then he came up and started screaming ‘shark’ and at first we didn’t realize he was bitten and I asked how big it was then he was like ‘stay close, don’t leave me.’
“And the other guy asked if he’d been bitten and he pulled up his swim shorts and had a big bite taken out of his thigh so we all paddled in together and the surf lesson guys did a tourniquet with a leash.”
According to Andrew Rossiter, director of the Waikiki Aquarium, “Sharktober” is a real thing, sort of.
“Tiger shark attacks are known to be more abundant during this month because October and November are when the large females migrate down from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands,” he told Hawaii News Now.
Stay tuned for updates.
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