According to the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI), a fisherman was injured by a shark he was attempting to release off the coast of South Africa.
The unidentified 46-year-old Cape Town man was aboard a fishing trawler 34 miles off the coast of Port Elizabeth when a shark became entangled in its fishing nets March 5.
The shark grabbed the man’s arm as he tried to release it from the nets. A distress signal was sent and a rescue plan put into place after the shark was released.
The patient “. . . sustained shark bite lacerations to his left forearm and left upper arm during attempts to release an approximately 2.5 meter [8 ft] shark that had been caught in their fishing nets and had been hauled aboard the fishing trawler,” said Justin Erasmus, NSRI Port Elizabeth deputy station commander.
“In rough sea conditions, once closer to the Port of Port Elizabeth, we launched our sea rescue craft Spirit of Toft, accompanied by an EC Government Health EMS rescue paramedic, and rendezvoused with the trawler 4 nautical miles south of our sea rescue station,” Erasmus said.
A rescue swimmer was transferred to the trawler and found the injured man in stable condition after receiving first aid from his crew mates.
The man was taken aboard the NSRI vessel and transported to shore before being taken by EMS ambulance to the hospital.
There have been a total of 11 shark attack bites (9 with injury, 4 of which are considered provoked*) publicly reported and verified in 2019. One fatal**; Three were reported in the U.S (including zero fatal), with 1 occurring in Florida and 1 in Hawaii. Three have been reported in Australia, zero fatal. Three unconfirmed bites, worldwide, not included in the total count.
All locations have been marked on the 2019 Shark Attack map.
*Provoked defined as spearfishing, feeding sharks, fishing, etc. (listed with green marker).
**Zero possible scavenge
