South Maui beaches seem to be increasingly popular with sharks.
Several beaches were closed Thursday morning after a shark sighting at Kamaole Beach Park I.
Stand-up paddleboarders said they saw five hammerhead sharks about 6 feet in length circle their boards and then swim off, according to the Maui County Department of Fire and Public Safety.
The incident took place in waters 10 feet deep.
Lifeguards closed the beach and cleared the ocean of swimmers at 10:50 a.m. in waters off Kamaole Beach I, II and III and at Cove Park.
Shark warning signs were posted along the beaches for two hours while lifeguards patrolled the waters.
The beaches reopened at 12:50 p.m. after no additional sharks were sighted.
On the morning of Nov. 14, a 58-year-old Kihei woman hanging onto a foam flotation device sustained wounds on her calf and right thigh while she was about 40 yards offshore from Kamaole Beach Park I.
On Oct. 21 a surfer received lacerations to the left arm, hand and leg off Hookipa Beach Park.
A female snorkeler received a bite to her lower left leg Oct. 14 in waters just north of the Kamaole beaches, off Charley Young Beach in Kihei. She was about 40 feet from shore in 7 feet of water.
A shark bit a hydrofoil board being ridden by a stand-up paddler Aug. 8 in Paia.
At Wailea Beach a 59-year-old man floating 40 yards from shore sustained minor lacerations to his right shoulder May 3, according to a state Department of Land And Natural Resources website listing shark attacks.
A snorkeler received minor lacerations on the right shoulder in waters off Olowalu on March 31.
Also off Wailea, a shark bit the end of a paddleboard operated by a stand-up paddler 150 to 200 yards offshore Jan. 23.
