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Wahiawa resident Makenna Siegel was wading in warm, nearshore waters at Waimea Bay on Thursday afternoon when she spotted a shark thrashing in the ocean about 20 yards away, sending her screaming and sprinting toward the shore.
“It scared me,” said Siegel, 22, as she stood on the sand — her hair still dripping with water — peering toward the ocean to see whether the shark would resurface. “I’m just going to sit right here,” Siegel said matter-of-factly.
Tiffiny Licking, who was in the water with Siegel and also saw the shark, agreed that staying clear of the water was a good idea. “I’m going to keep tanning,” she said.
Lifeguards estimated the shark they spotted was 5 to 6 feet long.
There have been frequent shark sightings at Waimea this week, prompting lifeguards to post warning signs. Three sightings were reported Thursday, all estimated to be sharks 5 to 6 feet long, their species
undetermined.
Despite the signs and lifeguards warning people to stay out of the water, some beachgoers still opted to swim.
About two dozen could be seen in waters close to shore, as well as at some distance away.
“This is a dangerous situation,” Emergency Medical Services spokeswoman Shayne Enright said. “The lifeguards are warning people to stay out of the water. If you do decide to enter the water, it’s at your own risk,” she said.
Multiple aggressive sharks were seen Monday thrashing in the ocean, likely feeding on schools of fish about 5 yards offshore. On Thursday lifeguards were informed by fishermen that they saw a 10-foot tiger shark in the bay at dawn.
Researcher Carl Meyer of the University of Hawaii’s Institute of Marine Biology said schools of juvenile akule (halalu) are likely attracting sharks to nearshore waters. Halalu are seasonal and typically form schools in sheltered bays and harbors in mid- to late September.
Meyer said large schools of fish have been seen at Waimea and other coastal areas in Hawaii in recent weeks. The schools appear as darkened zones in the water, looking almost like patches of seaweed. Large schools were in the bay Thursday.
Joanne Timmons of Boston was at Waimea with her husband, Glen, as they celebrated their 10th anniversary in Hawaii. She took a dip in the water, ignoring the warning signs and reasoning, “We would stay close to the shore.”
But that logic went out the window immediately after she saw the aggressive shark, and she changed her mind about getting back into the water.
Sam Louangraf of Kalihi constantly shifted from one side of the beach to the other Thursday while carrying his fishing poles and water-filled bucket to keep apace with the schools of fish.
“I’ve never seen a shark come here. This is the first time I’ve seen them,” said the avid fisherman.
About an hour before Siegel dashed out of the water after the shark sighting, Gloria McIntosh, 61, of San Francisco, who is vacationing with her family, calmly sat on the wet sand on the shoreline as water lapped over her outstretched legs.
“I don’t consider them predators for us,” McIntosh said of the sharks.
“I don’t think they would come in this close,” she added as she pointed toward nearshore waters.
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