Officials confirm Kauai shark attack

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources has confirmed that a surfer on Kauai was bitten by a shark Thursday afternoon in waters off Hanalei Pier.

The surfer, from Minnesota, was interviewed at a hospital after seeking treatment.

“From photos taken of his injuries, we were able to determine that they were consistent with a shark bite,” said DLNR spokeswoman Deborah Ward.

The man was bitten about 120 yards offshore at Black Pot Beach as he was paddling toward shore. Lifeguards did not spot the shark. They reported that the surfer suffered lacerations to both hands that were non-life-threatening. The attack marked the second recent shark incident in the Hanalei area.

Three days earlier a 15-year-old surfer reported that a shark hooked her leash cord with its mouth while she was paddling to shore after surfing beyond the main break at Hanalei.

The incident occurred at about 11:30 a.m. about 500 yards offshore, where Kaya Waldman of Kapaa said she saw what looked like a buoy but realized as she got closer that it was a shark. She described it as longer than her 8-foot-8-inch surfboard.

“It starts coming at me really fast,” the teen said. The shark hooked her leash cord in its mouth and started to drag her underwater. “I started screaming. I was so scared.”

She said she managed to remove the Velcro strap attached to the cord from around her ankle and quickly paddled, catching a wave in. Waldman was not injured during the incident.

Once she reached the shore, she informed lifeguards and firefighters about the encounter.

County spokeswoman Sarah Blane said lifeguards were unable to locate a shark, and “given the far location from the swimming area — and with no other reports of a shark sighting that day — they did not close the beach to swimming.”

Despite the encounter being the “scariest thing” that ever happened to her, Waldman said she headed back to the same surf break the following day.

“Surfing is my main passion in life,” she said.