INJURED – 27 March 2009 – Sunday’s River mouth, Eastern Cape, South Africa – fisherman attacked

 

Tony Dell, 59, was bitten on the calf by a ragged tooth shark while trying to measure the shark after it was caught by another angler about 2 kilometres up the Sunday’s River from its mouth in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The incident occurred on Friday 27 March 2009.

One of the fishermen was quoted as saying: “He was helping an angler to measure the Raggie when a wave came in and lifted the shark. The ragged tooth shark then spun around and bit Dell on the calf. It was not an attack, it was an accident.”

Dell was taken to the Greenacres hospital in Port Elizabeth where he was said to be in a stable condition and was due to be operated on.

No other details were reported.

Sources:

News24

FATAL – 20 March 2009 – Second Beach, Port St Johns, Transkei, South Africa – surfer attacked

Luyolo Mangele, 16, was attacked and killed by a shark while surfing at Second Beach, Port St Johns, Transkei, South Africa on Friday, 20 March 2009. Shark experts believe it was a tiger shark, after taking measurements of the bite marks.

Eyewitness Tim Whitaker told the Daily Dispatch newspaper: “I caught a wave out and was coming back to shore when I heard the guys on the beach shouting. I went to assist him (the teen who was attacked) but he fell off his surf board as he tried to walk. I hadn’t seen the shark and I really did not know what was going on.”

He said he only realised he had been bitten in the leg once they got him to the beach.

Another report says when he got to shore his surfing instructor and a life guard tried to stop the bleeding and called paramedics for help.

The teen died about 30 minutes after the attack, apparently from loss of blood.

Sources:

Daily Dispatch

CDNN

INJURED -- 18 March 2009 -- Ponce de Leon Inlet, Volusia County, Florida, USA -- surfer attacked

A 17-year-old girl was nipped by a shark while surfing at Ponce de Leon Inlet's south Jetty, Volusia County, Florida, USA. The wound was minor and did not require stitches. The incident occurred on Wednesday, 18 March 2009.

No other details were reported.

Source:

UPI

SCARED -- 19 March 2009 -- North Broulee Beach near Bateman's Bay, New South Wales, Australia -- surfer attacked

A brief report on 19 March says a woman was attacked while surfing at North Broulee Beach near Bateman's Bay, New South Wales, Australia. The shark bit the nose of her board while she was paddling out in waist deep water. It then let go and disappeared. Teeth marks were left in the nose of the board.

The incident happened around 7.45am on 19 March 2009.

The surfer (name and age not released) was not injured.

The type of shark responsible has not been identified.

Locals told media the water at the beach was the warmest it had been this year and that there had been a lot of fish activity recently.

No other details were reported.

Sources:

Adelaide Now

INJURED – 16 March 2009 -- Alenuihaha Channel between the Big Island and Maui, Hawaii – swimmer attacked

Mike Spalding, 61, was bitten on the left calf by what is believed to be a cookie-cutter shark while swimming the nearly 30-mile wide Alenuihaha Channel between the Big Island and Maui, Hawaii.

The shark left a 3-inch-diameter, 1-inch-deep wound on the back of his left leg.

Spalding was about 4 1/2 hours and 11 miles into crossing the channel about 8 pm when he was bitten.

He said he first felt a sharp pain on his sternum, which turned out to be a superficial wound. Nevertheless, he immediately began moving to a kayak accompanying him.

About 15 seconds later, "I got hit in the calf," he said. "It was such a disappointment because I knew the swim was over. I was bleeding profusely."

Spalding scrambled into the kayak, the bottom of which began to quickly fill with blood. Bubba McLean, who was paddling the kayak, called a nearby support boat for help. Spalding was taken to the Kihei Small Boat Ramp, where his wife drove him to Maui Memorial Medical Center.

"I'm a glutton for water time," he said. "I was in a zone. ... I was in pig heaven. And then this thing happens."

Spalding is a well-known open-ocean swimmer.

Sources:

Honolulu Advertiser

INJURED – 2 March 2009 – Cape Point, Western Cape, South Africa – fisherman attacked

Gabriel Fernandez, 40, the skipper of a tuna fishing boat was bitten by a one metre blue shark as he pulled it aboard the boat after hooking it. The boat was about 30 miles off the west coast of Cape Point when Fernandez was bitten. He received lacerations on two fingers on his right hand and a 6cm gash on his right arm. The incident happened on Monday, 2 March 2009.

“I was pulling the shark in - and it turned around and bit me instead.
“It was a blue shark and was just over a metre long,” he told media.

He was brought ashore at Hout Bay by the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) and taken to Constantiaberg Medi-Clinic.

Brad Geyser, station commander of the Hout Bay NSRI, told media: “They were catching tuna when they hooked a shark,” he said.
“They were trying to disentangle it from the side of the boat and it leapt out of the water and bit him.”

Source

IOL

INJURED – 26 January 2009 – Surf Beach, near Bateman’s Bay, New South Wales, Australia – swimmer/surfer attacked

In a very brief report in Adelaide Now on 19 March – it says on Saturday, January 26 a man was apparently bitten by a shark at Surf Beach, three beaches north of North Broulee Beach -- New South Wales, Australia.

The man left the surf about 4.30pm with gashes on his hand and also wounds which looked like those left by a shark's abrasive skin.

He did not see what caused the wounds and was treated by lifeguards.

No other details are reported.

Sources:

Adelaide Now

INJURED – 1 March 2009 – Avalon Beach, Sydney, Australia – surfer attacked

A teenage boy, name not released, was bitten on the leg by a shark while surfing with his father off Avalon Beach in Sydney, Australia. The incident happened early morning Sunday, 1 March 2009.

“The father heard a scream and turned to see his son thrashing about in the water. Fortunately the shark swam away and the boy was helped to shore by his father,” police said in a statement.

They said the bites on his leg cut through to the bone, but the boy did not appear to have sustained any fractures.

He was airlifted to hospital.

More details are expected later.

Source

Reuters

 

Update (2 March):  The boy is 15 and his name is Andrew Lindop. He is reportedly recovering well at the Royal North Shore Hospital.