



In a year already inundated with shark sightings and incidences, Hawaii took things to a new level this past month when four separate attacks occurred over a span of 30 days—three of them within the past week and two of them only a few hours apart.

The first was the well-publicised case of the spearfisherman who posted his injury on Instagram while being carted off to the emergency room. Then, last week, a surfer lost his leg while surfing Leftovers on the North Shore. As if that wasn’t enough, a swimmer off of Oahu’s Lanikai Beach had both feet nearly bitten off this past Saturday morning. He was fortunate to have been saved by passing kayakers who fought off the aggressive tiger shark, and was rushed to the hospital, where he is currently being treated for serious injuries. But a few hours later, another man was attacked by a shark and suffered bites to his left leg, this time at Waikiki Beach, one of Oahu’s most popular tourist attractions.

The swimmer who was attacked being helped to shore by a passing kayaker. © 2020 - Acacia Barnes/KITV

After numerous attacks over the past 12 months in North Carolina, Reunion Island, Australia, Hawaii, and California (Newport Beach was closed due to sharks yesterday for the second time this autumn)—plus the headline story of the Mick Fanning shark attack during the contest in South Africa—it would seem that we are in a period of heightened shark activity.

Great whites have been patrolling lineups in Southern California all summer, a six-meter great white was reportedly spotted in Bali this past week, and Kentucky Fried Chicken South Africa got buzzed by a big whitey this past week as well. Scientists have also reported that large numbers of tagged sharks seem to be relocating to foreign waters, leading many to wonder what exactly is causing all of this irregular behaviour.

One possible explanation, according to marine biologist Giancarlo Thomae, may be the developing El Nino event and the anomalous water temps that have been recorded throughout the Pacific Ocean over the summer, which may be resulting in changes in the migratory patterns of typical shark prey. Fortunately, water temps are finally starting to drop in California, so hopefully the shark population will mellow out as early winter swells start to fill in.

In the meantime, here’s wishing a speedy recovery to the latest shark attack survivors.