A recreational surfer attacked Tuesday morning by a shark in Honolua Bay has died of his injuries, Maui Memorial Medical Center confirmed Thursday.
The 56-year-old Lahaina man was paddling near where the second day of the Women’s Maui Pro surf contest was about to begin when the attack occurred, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.
The competition’s organizers suspended events, and shark warning signs were immediately displayed prominently along the beach, the newspaper reported.
The World Surf League announced that the competition is currently on hold indefinitely, KITV reported.
According to the TV station, the man was admitted to Maui Memorial in critical condition, underwent surgery and his status was upgraded to stable at 1:03 p.m. Tuesday. The hospital later confirmed the man died Wednesday evening.
Kim Holland, a shark expert with the University of Hawaii’s Institute for Marine Biology, told KHON that fatal shark attacks in Hawaii are rare, “So this is a terrible turn of events.”
Holland, who has studied sharks in Hawaiian waters for decades, told the TV station that humans are not a part of the typical shark diet and tend to be mistaken by sharks for turtles in the rare instances of attacks.
According to Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources, the man’s Wednesday death is the first from a shark attack in the state’s waters since May 2019, and the most recent shark incident occurred Sept. 6 when a snorkeler suffered lacerations to the ankle, the Star-Advertiser reported.
Cox Media Group
