A kayaker was hurt in a Malibu shark bite on Sunday, Oct. 4. A shark he had hooked off Paradise Cove bit him twice on the leg as he tried to release it, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
Los Angeles County lifeguard Alex Buford said the shark was believed to be a shortfin mako, NBC Los Angeles reported. Fire officials first described the event as a shark attack. They later reclassified it as a fishing accident, because the man was injured while handling a shark on his line.
The fire department logged a call at about 8:30 a.m. reporting a possible bite near the 28200 block of West Pacific Coast Highway. The department said the man was about half a mile offshore near Paradise Cove when he caught a large shark on his line.
The shark bit him, he let the shark go and then the shark came back and knocked him off the boat and attacked him again and bit his leg again,
Alex Buford, Los Angeles County lifeguard, told NBC Los Angeles
Accounts differ on how he ended up in the water. Buford described the shark returning and knocking him off the kayak. The fire department’s account indicated that the first bite caused him to fall in.
A nearby vessel brought him to shore, where lifeguards treated him before he was taken to a hospital, the fire department told the USA TODAY Network. An unnamed manager at a beachside restaurant told KTLA he saw teeth marks on the man’s lower leg and above his knee. Officials have not released the man’s condition.
Local beaches stayed open after the incident.
Mako sharks typically stay in deeper water, so I don’t think there’s too much concern for shallow water swimming or anything,
Alex Buford, Los Angeles County lifeguard
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) had recorded four shark incidents in the state this year as of its July update, one of them in San Diego County. The agency counts a shark approaching and touching a person, surfboard or kayak in the water. Its definition excludes sharks approaching boats and injuries caused by hooked sharks.
Shortfin makos average 6 to 7 feet (1.8 to 2.1 meters) long and can reach 12 feet (3.7 meters), according to NOAA Fisheries’ species profile. On the West Coast, they are most common off California. They live near the surface, and juveniles are common in coastal waters while adults stay mostly offshore. The agency’s 2024 stock assessment found the North Pacific population is not overfished.
Makos are prized as game fish and turn up often in shark tournaments. Recreational anglers face a limit on how many they can keep.
The bite comes during a busy stretch for sharks along the Malibu coast. In August, a hammerhead circled the Malibu pier after grabbing and then spitting out an angler’s bait. Last month, anglers reported a whale shark near Santa Barbara Island.
Source: USA TODAY, Yahoo News Malaysia, The Daily Beast
