Shark alert issued for isles Attack and flurry of sightings prompt shark warning for isles
By Alexandre Da Silva
mailto:adasilva [ at ] starbulletin.com?subject=http://starbulletin.com/2008/09/11/
The state is warning people to be careful when going into the ocean following a series of shark sightings on the Big Island and Kauai and a shark attack on Oahu.
Several Beaches Reopen After Shark Bite
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City and county lifeguards kept watch from shoreline while police and fire rescue personnel took to the air.
Officials were to decide this morning whether to keep Kahana State Beach Park closed as well as warning signs posted about one mile south along a surf spot off the Crouching Lion Inn in Kaaawa, where a 40-year-old man had his right leg bitten by a shark at about 5 p.m. Tuesday.
Todd Murashige, who suffered massive injuries and was taken in serious condition to the Queen’s Medical Center, was listed as stable yesterday afternoon, hospital spokeswoman Nicole Pickens said.
The attack came in the wake of at least eight shark sightings on the Big Island since Aug. 26, according to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. The agency issued a long warning yesterday, urging swimmers, divers and surfers to stay away from water where sharks have been spotted.
"In all other areas, please exercise caution when entering the water," department Director Laura Thielen said in a statement.
The increased shark presence closer to shore could be due to species coming to shallower waters during this time of the year for spawning, according to fishermen and scientists, the state noted.
In the latest sighting, sharks were swimming yesterday between Maumae Beach and Kawaihae Harbor on the Big Island. The island’s Hapuna, Waialea and Spencer beach parks have been closed.
"We got a certain concentration of big ocean predators that are drifting through the chain right now," said Dan Polhemus, administrator of the Division of Aquatic Resources.
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Data from tagged sharks shows that some swim from the Big Island to Midway Atoll and back, he said.
Officials have not yet determined which kind of shark chomped Murashige’s leg, although tiger sharks are Hawaii’s most common attacker of humans.
Murashige has competed in the Hawaii Amateur Surfing Association for at least the past five years, said Wendal Aoki, the association’s president and contest director.
One of Murashige’s friends, Kayne Oku, said he believes Murashige will not lose his leg despite the massive bite.
"I saw the wounds. It was pretty darn big," Oku said yesterday. "He had movement in his toe. His right quad had a very large bite mark."
The attack happened about 300 yards offshore in an area where another surfer escaped with a |