Several shark bites have been reported over the weekend.
The first occurred May 12 at Nahoon Beach, South Africa.
An unidentified male was participating in a junior surfing event when he was bumped off his board and bitten by a shark.
The surfer was transported to the hospital by private vehicle and apparently suffered minor injury to his side.
While the shark bite has made national news, a second more deadly event took place later in the day. A school-aged teen boy and girl drowned off Eastern Beach, East London, South Africa. The two youngsters were recovered from the water, but despite efforts to administer CPR, they were declared dead.
Last July a 13-year-old girl was knocked off her surfboard around Nahoon Beach by an estimated 10-foot great white shark.
Two bites were reported on May 13.
The first incident, which should is actually an injury, occurred on the vessel Govenek of Ladram near the coast of the United Kingdom.
A fisherman, identified as Max Berryman by friends, was injured by a dead porbeagle shark, which is a relative of the great white.
The shark had been snagged in the nets (bycatch) and bought on deck. Around 8:15 a.m., the sharks teeth grazed the 21-year-old man’s right leg.
A helicopter was dispatched from Newqua, Cornwall and retrieved Berryman from the boat.
“Thanks to the efforts of the crew onboard and their swift actions in treating the wounds and contacting us, we were able to arrange the evacuation of the crew member promptly and get him to hospital,” said Alex Grieg, Senior Maritime Operations Officer for HM Coastguard.
“We understand the fisherman is still in hospital and wish him a speedy recovery.”
The last actual shark bite Tracking sharks is aware of in the UK occurred in 2017. A small shark latched onto Rich Thomson’s hand while he was surfing off Bantham Beach in South Devon. Thomson had a minor wound on his hand, most likely from a smooth hound shark.
A much more serious interaction occurred May 13 off Hilton Head, South Carolina.
Jei Turell and his brother were splashing water on each other in the waist deep water off Disney Beach House.
Around 3 p.m. a shark, identified as a blacktip, grabbed the young man’s arm (graphic photos) and quickly let go.
The 10-year-old suffered serious lacerations to his right forearm and had to be airlifted to Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah.
Turell made it through surgery but lost a lot of blood and doctors are trying to raise his hemoglobin levels.
There were four shark attack bites reported in Hilton Head last year.
Linto Suttle was bitten on the right foot when he dove in the water near the Sea Pines Beach Club
Johnny Simatacolos was swimming in waist deep water off Sea Pines Beach on July 29 when he felt a sharp pain in his foot. The 10-year-old had been bitten on the foot by a small shark.
Olivia Wallhauser was boogie boarding with her family on South Forest Beach June 21 when a wave lifted her feet off the bottom.
The 16-year-old kicked her legs and ended up hitting a shark in its ribs. The shark grabbed Olivia’s right foot and left several puncture wounds.
On June 18, Reagan Readnour was boogie boarding with several family members on Burkes Beach when she was bitten by a shark.
The 14-year-old was in waist-deep water with her feet dangling behind her as she played on her boogie board when a shark grabbed her left thigh and then her left calf.
There have been a total of 29 shark attack bites* in 2018, 0 of which were fatal**; 3 were reported in the U.S., with 0 occurring in Florida and 2 in Hawaii. Ten have been reported in Australia, none of which were fatal. Four unconfirmed worldwide and not included in the total count.
All locations have been marked on the 2018 Shark Attack Bites Tracking Map.
*Eight with no injury
**One possible scavenge
Updated May 15, 2018
