A spearfisher is recovering after being bitten by a shark in Maui, Hawaii.
The unidentified 27-year-old woman was fishing Nov. 7 about 100 yards off Lahaina.
She told authorities a 4-to 6-foot Blacktip reef or Galapagos shark bumped her and then disappeared, but at 10:38 a.m. the shark returned and bit her leg.
The Kauai resident alerted authorities and the extent of her injuries are only described as not life-threatening.
The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) initiated shark attack protocol and have posted shark warning signs one mile in each direction at Mala Wharf.
Another provoked incident occurred on the island this year.
An unidentified male was kite boarding May 15, approximately 400 to 500 yards from the shore off Kanaha. At 4:40 p.m. the man was injured by a 5-to 8-foot tiger shark.
The man was treated for minor lacerations and puncture wounds to his lower back in what the DNLR considered a provoked incident.
Father and son swim to shore after possible white shark interaction
In a Feb. 2 incident, Daniel Sullivan and his 15-year-old son Tristan were looking for whales and dolphins to photograph about a mile off Ukumehame in West Maui.
Around 2 p.m. the duo were near an area known as a Thousand Peaks when their kayak was pushed out of the water and quickly pulled down. An estimated 10-to 13-foot-long shark with a pointed nose was by Daniel’s leg as it bit the kayak. He hit the shark with his paddle to try and keep it away from his son. The two watched the shark bite the kayak before making the decision to swim back to shore.
After a nerve-racking 35-minute swim, they arrived back to shore and alerted authorities who recovered their kayak.
The estimated foot-and-half wide bite mark on the kayak could be consistent with a white shark’s tooth pattern.
All locations have been marked on the 2021 Shark Attack Map.
