Nothing New Under Sun--or Water : Hawaii Has Had Shark Attacks as Long as Surfers Have Braved the Waves

Shark attacks are nothing new in Hawaii. Tiger sharks have been tangling with wave riders for as long as anyone can recall.

George Balazs, a National Marine Fisheries Service biologist and sea turtle expert, using several sources, has compiled a list of more than 100 attacks--most of them on surfers--dating to 1779, when a young male was gashed on the buttocks after being pursued while surfing. He later suffered “great pain” and died.

In 1828, “A man out riding surf (off Maui) was killed by a shark which bit off his limbs and left his body floating.” The attack was reportedly witnessed by several Hawaiian chiefs.

In 1904, partial remains of a swimmer who had disappeared off Diamond Head were found inside a “monstrous shark.” The body “was complete from the waist down with the exception of one leg.”

Also found in the stomach were ducks, tin cans and wood.

In 1931, a Lt. Williamson had harpooned a 10-foot tiger shark off Pearl Harbor, and while he was using a gaff to bring it aboard, the shark bit off the tips of his fingers and chewed the two-inch oak pole of the gaff in half. In the shark’s stomach were “the hind leg of a mule, two bathing suits nearly digested, a soldier’s belt buckle, a pint of buttons, two horse shoes, the corner of a wooden soap box, an anchor chain, two small anchors and assorted bolts, nails and copper fittings.”

In 1960, Harold Riley was swept to sea while net fishing off Maile Point, Oahu. A 20-foot shark was observed attacking the victim.

In 1976, Danson Nakima apparently passed out while diving for coral at 180 feet. About 30 large sharks were observed attacking the victim.

In 1980, Mark Skidgel was lying on his bodyboard off Lahaina, Maui, when a 14-foot tiger shark bit him on the left side of his body. The wound required 52 stitches.

The list goes on. And chances are, it will continue to grow. The average is is up to about four attacks a year, due more to an increase in the human population than to an increase in sharks, some experts say.

But it is an alarming statistic nonetheless for those who paddle out to the offshore reefs on almost a daily basis.

Also alarming, some might think, is a recent increase in green sea turtles around the Hawaiian islands. The turtles, which feed on algae in and slightly beyond the surf zone, were protected as a federally “threatened” species in 1976.

“It may be that (the sharks) are learning now, with more turtles here, to concentrate their feeding on turtles, which would put them into close proximity to surfers,” said John Naughton, a NMFS biologist based in Honolulu.

“I can’t say that is the case, but in the 1960s there was roughly a 20% occurrence of turtles in the stomach contents (of tiger sharks), and now we’re seeing a 42% occurrence, which would make sense because turtles are more abundant than they were in the ‘60s.”

Surfers have voiced a concern that tiger sharks might be mistaking them for turtles, which would help explain the rash of attacks--three confirmed--and sightings last winter at the North Shore.

Balazs discounted that theory, claiming there is “no credible evidence” to support it. But there is no disputing that turtles often swim near the surface, and tiger sharks often attack floating objects.

Said Naughton: “I don’t think they mistake people for turtles. I think they just happen to be in there looking for turtles and they see something moving up there and they just whack it. They don’t care what it is. They’ll eat anything .”