Third shark encounter shuts beaches across South Maui

COURTESY HAWAII DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES
A Maui beachgoer encountered a shark in murky water Wednesday, the third such incident since Saturday. Two women from Kihei were on their stand-up paddleboards about 200 yards off Waipuilani Beach Park on Wednesday when one saw a shark approaching the other’s board; the animal bit the board’s tail and knocked the woman off, her friend reported.

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State and county officials Wednesday closed down beaches from the Old Suda Store to Kalama Park in South Maui after a shark encounter — the third since Saturday on the Valley Isle.

Officials planned to conduct a search of ocean waters Thursday morning to determine whether to re-open the beaches.

No one was injured in Wednesday’s incident, which occurred at about 10 a.m. in waters off Maui Sunset in Kihei, authorities said. However, a shark left bite marks on a stand-up paddleboard.

A female paddleboarder was about 200 yards off Waipuilani Beach Park in 5 to 6 feet of water when a tiger shark bit the board’s tail and knocked her off the board, according to the woman’s friend, who was nearby and on a paddleboard. The friend said she saw the shark’s dorsal fin and its head, which she said was about 2 feet wide.

On Saturday, a shark bit a surfer’s board about 100 yards off Maalaea. And on Monday, a shark bit a paddleboarder’s board in Kahului Harbor.

No one was injured in either encounter.

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The state Department of Land and Natural Resources is advising beachgoers statewide to stay out of murky waters, which could contain dead animals and other storm runoff that can attract predators. Ocean waters have been murky in some areas following heavy rains from Hurricane Ana.

In a news release issued Wednesday, DLNR Chair William Aila Jr. said, "We are fortunate that no one was hurt in any of these encounters." He added, "They should serve as a reminder to stay out of areas that continue to experience runoff and murky water."