A rare shark bite has been reported in Talofofo Bay, Guam.
Rain Williams was paddling across the bay with a friend when he lost his balance and fell into the water.
“I fell off the board and I was in the water for a few seconds, maybe 10 seconds,” he told Kuam News “Then I grabbed on to my board- the shark had bumped my board couple times, maybe three times, and while I was in the water.”
He thinks it may have been a juvenile shark that was swimming near the surface and became interested in him when he fell in the water.
The avid surfer had several small puncture wounds on the outside of his left thigh.
“I felt it swim by me earlier. It must have bumped up against me and left some teeth marks on my leg, my left thigh,” he said.
Williams and his friend were able to paddle back to shore without another interaction.
He is taking the incident in stride and once the swelling goes down and wound heals, he will be hitting the water again.
“I do plan to go surfing again, diving probably, it’s not going to keep me from going out in the water,” Williams said.
Shark attacks bites are rare in Guam. The last fatal incident occurred April 13, 2013, when a Korean tourist went missing.
Nae Dok Kim, 40, was found by fisherman about 20 feet from Asan Beach in Tumon Bay.
All but one appendage was missing and his autopsy showed bleeding before drowning. It is possible a serious strike occurred and Kim drowned before his arm and both legs were severed.
Authorities believe Kim may have been swimming near the edge of a drop-off by the reef where larger sharks are known to live.
There have been a total of 78 shark attack bites (72 with injury, 20 of which are considered provoked*) publicly reported and verified in 2019. Five fatal**
All locations have been marked on the 2019 Shark Attack Map.
45 were reported in the U.S. (including one fatal), with 24
occurring in Florida (4 provoked) 14 in Hawaii (3 no injury, 4 provoked, 1
fatal) and 2 in California (1 no injury). Twelve have been reported in
Australia, zero fatal. Four unconfirmed bites worldwide are not included in the
total count.
*Provoked defined as spearfishing, feeding sharks, fishing, etc. (listed with
green marker).
**One possible scavenge
