Archive for the 'Hawaii' Category
Thursday, March 11th, 2010
Three large tiger sharks forced a search team to halt its efforts yesterday to locate and recover the body of a missing swimmer from Northern California who had disappeared from Laniākea Beach in Hawaii on Tuesday evening.
A helicopter spotted the sharks at about 7:30 a.m. near a body that was floating roughly a half mile off Pāpa’iloa Beach.
Lifeguards issued a shark warning and closed all beaches within one mile of the area.
Following ocean safety protocol, the fire department would not allow its rescue divers in the water for a 24-hour period. But the air search continued.
The Visitor Aloha Society of Hawai’i is helping the swimmer’s wife of six years and his family. Visitor Aloha Society of Hawai’i officials described the swimmer as a 35-year-old man from Beijing who was living in Sunnyvale, Calif.
Other family members will arrive from Beijing on Saturday, VASH officials said.
Helicopter pilots described the animals around the swimmer as 12- to 15-foot-long tiger sharks.
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Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010
Waters off Ho’okipa Beach Park were closed for two hours yesterday after a shark sighting on the north shore of Maui.
The shark was estimated to be a 12-foot tiger shark, and it was spotted at 11:15 a.m. about 150 yards from the surf break.
Ho’okipa, a popular surfing spot, was closed from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for one mile both north and south of the surfing reef. The beach park remained open.
Warning signs were posted in the area, and no injuries were reported.
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Friday, January 8th, 2010
A 10-foot shark was spotted at Maili Beach on the west side of Oahu Thursday around 1:30 p.m. by an on-duty police officer.
Bryan Cheplic, public information officer of the Honolulu Emergency Services Department, said lifeguards were informed and they cleared the water and posted warning signs.
Cheplic said a lifeguard patrolling the area did not spot the shark but it is being considered a confirmed sighting. Signs will remain up and lifeguards will reassess the area Friday morning.
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Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009
Authorities say a monk seal attacked a swimmer off Kauai Monday afternoon. The 28-year-old woman from Washington state was snorkeling at Mahaulepu Beach when she drifted into an area where several monk seals were swimming.
A full-grown female seal who was with her pup apparently felt threatened by the snorkeler and attacked. The woman was bitten on her face, head, hand and elbow. She made it back to shore and was later taken to Wilcox Memorial Hospital.
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Saturday, November 21st, 2009
Signs were posted on Thursday afternoon at Maili Beach Park on Oahu’s Leeward Coast warning beachgoers to stay out if the water after a 10-foot shark. A diver had spotted the shark about 500 yards off shore and swam into the beach to report it to lifeguards. Lifeguards confirmed the shark’s presence and said it was exhibiting signs of aggressive behavior.
Lifeguards reassessed the area this morning and determined there was no need to post the signs again.
Happy swimming!
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Thursday, October 22nd, 2009
An aerial sighting of a 14-foot tiger shark and a 5-foot shark of an unidentified species delayed Tuesday’s reopening of a portion of South Maui coastline after a shark bit a 54-year-old surfer early Monday morning off Kalama Park.
Around 6 a.m. Monday, Kihei resident Scott Henrich had been sitting upright on his board, waiting to catch a wave at the Kalama Bowls surf spot when he was bitten on the right leg by a shark.
State and county officials planned to reopen the beach areas Tuesday morning after checking the coastal waters by air. But the helicopter reconnaissance around 7 a.m. spotted the tiger shark north of the attack site and the other shark was seen at the location where Henrich had been bitten.
Officials kept the coastal areas closed until noon when a second helicopter flyover found no sharks. The beaches have since been reopened.
photo: AMANDA COWAN
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Tuesday, October 20th, 2009
Honoluluadvertiser.com just posted some more details and pics of the damage done to the poor guy’s leg…
Photos by CHRISTIE WILSON | The Honolulu Advertiser
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009
Turns out yesterday’s attack was the work of a tiger shark, not a sand shark.
According to KHON2.com, ocean safety officials say the man was bitten in the upper right thigh and the lower part of his right ankle.
“The radius of the bite was 25 inches, we’re not sure what kind of shark is was, but the bite marks are consistant with it being a tiger, but we’re not specifically sure what species it was,” said Maui County Ocean Safety Supervisor Officer, Archie Kalepa.
The victim made it to shore on his own where another surfer helped him out of the water. He was taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center where he was treated and released. The shark also bit the man’s surfboard.
“The pattern seems very, very unusual it’s more indicative of something that’s used to feeding on mammals such as a Tiger Shark,” said Andrew Rossiter, director of the Waikiki Aquarium.
A witness said he believed the 6-to-8 foot shark was a sandbar shark, but experts say the aggressive nature of the attack and bite marks appear to be consistent with a tiger shark.
Surfers say the area is notorious for shark sightings.
DLNR personnel and ocean safety officers monitored the shoreline by air, land and sea and posted warning signs alerting beachgoers of the attack.
Officials will assess the area Tuesday morning and decide then if they’ll reopen the beach.
Monday, October 19th, 2009
According to Honoluluadvertisor.com the beach at Kalama Park in Kihei has been closed this morning after a shark attack.
A Maui County news release says the attack took place at 6:13 this morning and that paramedics have taken one person to Maui Memorial Medical Center.
The county release said no other information is available at this time.
UPDATE: According to Foxnews.com the victim was a 54-year-old man and was attacked by a shark while surfing at Kalama Beach Park on Maui.
Maui County spokeswoman Mahina Martin says the unidentified man was bitten Monday morning in the upper right thigh and the lower part of his right ankle.
The man was transported to Maui Memorial Medical Center. His condition wasn’t immediately available.
Martin says the shark is believed to have been a 6- to 8-foot sand shark.
In response to the shark attack that occurred shortly after 6 a.m., ocean use from the south end of Kamaole 1 Beach Park to Waiohuli Road in Kihei was closed to beachgoers until sunset.
County and state personnel will continue to patrol and monitor the shoreline and near shore waters throughout the day.
Monday, October 19th, 2009
A shark sighting closed a portion of Poipu Beach fronting the Marriott Waiohi Beach Resort on Kauai yesterday.
Lifeguards closed the beach after a diver spotted the 8-foot grey shark at 2:45 p.m and expected it to remained closed for the rest of the day.
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