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A tiger shark attack in Oahu, Hawaii has led to a renewed call for surfers to express caution anytime they see a shark while they’re in the water. A tourist was attacked by a juvenile (8ft) tiger shark in Oahu during a surf lesson and it has caused a spotlight to be shown on the local surfing community.
Though the reported incident numbers might not point to October as being more dangerous for surfers in Hawaii than any other month, October’s called ‘sharktober’ by some in Hawaii because of a perceived spike in shark sightings and encounters by swimmers and surfers.
KITV reporter Shanila Kabir reported live from the beach where the latest tiger shark attack occurred. She reiterated the sentiment above, saying “October is known to be the season for most shark sightings and incidents in Hawaii and it looks like this month is hitting the peak.”
Bryan Surratt, a North Shore surfing instructor said “They’re always here. We see them all the time. But it’s really rare that somebody got bit right here.” Fellow surfing instructor Aiana Kane also appeared in the KITV report to say “If you’re out surfing and you see one. Usually if they’re in the shoreline, it’s not for a good reason. They don’t come in (this close) unless they’re hungry.”
Tiger sharks have a reputation. There is no denying that. Tigers are believed to account for the second most unprovoked attacks of any species, both fatal and non-fatal, according to the Florida Museum‘s database. But as those surfing instructors above echoed, the sharks are always there and the responsibility falls on us to get out of the water if we see them.
This was the second unprovoked shark attack of 2023 involving a Tiger Shark. The first came back on April 9th, also in Oahu, and it occurred in just 4-5ft of water. Back in 2017, there were also two recorded shark attacks in ‘Sharktober’, according to the State of Hawaii Incident List.
Details of the latest tiger shark attack are scant, but the afflicted is believe to have been a tourist from Spain who was taking a surfing lesson. It’s also believed the same shark was spotted earlier in the week. The attack took place in 4-6ft of water and the shark is believed to have measured 8 feet long and caused lacerations to the man’s thigh from bite marks.
How common are shark attacks?
It is important to mention that shark attacks are extremely rare. Especially when exercising proper caution by exiting the water in the presence of sharks.
The odds of surfer being attacked by a shark in Hawaii are roughly 1-in-200,000 or 0.0005%. This breakdown of those numbers shows how there are an average of 7 unprovoked shark attacks each year in Hawaii. Half of those attacks are on surfers. And there are approximately 700,000 surfers in Hawaii each year. So it is incredibly rare for this to happen and even rarer when someone is being safe.
This latest incident marks the third by a tiger shark this year in Hawaii.