A 75-year-old man received wounds to his leg in an apparent shark encounter today.
The Hawaii County Fire Department received the report from an isolated area between ‘Anaeho‘omalu Bay and Keawaiki in the Waikoloa area. The incident occurred after 10 a.m.
The man and three others were paddling outrigger canoes about a half-mile off shore when one of the boaters noticed the victim had stopped paddling.
The victim said a shark first bit the hull of the canoe and knocked him into the water. He said he fended off the shark with his paddle.
He could not identify the shark species but estimated it was the same length as his twelve-foot-long canoe.
His fellow paddlers helped him get back to shore and a friend took him to North Hawaii Community Hospital.
The state Department of Land and Natural Resource’s Division of Aquatic Resources said the fire department conducted a helicopter fly-over of the area but no sharks were spotted.
Another fly-over is scheduled Wednesday morning to ensure sharks have not moved into more heavily used areas.
Due to the ruggedness and remoteness of the area, no warning signs have been posted. It is not typically visited and requires a two-mile hike in to reach the coastline.