Fatal shark attacks off Oahu rare, experts say

The North Shore community is still reeling from the loss of a beloved boatman who apparently fell victim to a shark attack off Malaekahana on Sunday.

However, shark experts believe that shark attacks are still rare and are even rarer at this location.

Kim Holland, a shark researcher at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, said he cannot recall a fatal shark attack in Malaekahana in his 40 years of research.

“Even if there had been one, it would have been a long time ago,” he said. “It’s not like it’s a ‘hotspot.’ In fact, there are no ‘hotspots.'”

In an earlier study, Holland and his team found that the protected shallow ocean shelf at a depth of less than 180 meters acts like a magnet to tiger sharks from near and far.

The waters around Maui that tiger sharks most frequently visit also contain some of the island’s most popular beaches and oceanfront recreation areas, which may explain why Valley Isle has more shark attacks than any other Hawaiian island.

Holland said there is a similar shelf off Kahuku, near where the attack occurred, but the presence of tiger sharks does not necessarily mean there are shark attacks.

“There are many cases where sharks are sighted and nothing happens,” he said. “We don’t know why these very unusual, very rare attacks occur. We don’t understand why a shark would suddenly decide to do this. It’s unknown, but it’s just one of those facts of life.”

Nevertheless, any loss of life due to a shark attack is tragic.

“The science and the statistics cannot compensate for the tragedy and the loss,” Holland said. “As scientists, we can say this is very unusual and does not happen very often when you look at the deadly attacks of the last 40 years, but it does not help the families of the people who were attacked. We have to keep that in perspective.”

Loss of an icon

Honolulu Ocean Safety confirmed on Sunday the death of popular big-wave surfer and lifeguard Tamayo Perry (49) from Oahu.

Perry was surfing in the waters off Goat Island in Malaekahana during a break from his lifeguard shift when rescuers received a distress call just before 1 p.m.

Lifeguards found Perry’s body, which appeared to have suffered multiple shark bites, and brought it to shore, where he was pronounced dead.

Shark warning signs were put up on Laie Beach and remain up today, according to Ocean Safety. Lifeguards patrolling the area on Monday did not see any sharks.

Meanwhile, condolences have come in from all over the world.

The World Surf League said: “We are deeply saddened to announce that the surfing community has lost a beloved icon.”

“Our deepest condolences go out to Tamayo’s family and friends,” the WSL said in social media posts.

Perry competed professionally for more than 15 years, winning the prestigious Pipeline Master Trials in 1999. He has worked as a lifeguard for the county since 2016.

Perry’s widow, Emilia Perry, started a GoFundMe campaign to support his estate.

“He was everyone’s big brother, stern and uncompromising with an infectious and colohe smile,” she wrote. “He was your savior in times of need, your security when everything fell apart. He was a knight forged in the fires of the North Shore in the ’90s, his faith in Christ the rock he stood on. There are few who truly follow in the footsteps of Jesus, Tamayo never lost sight of the path.”

Many residents wrote in their memoirs of his courage at sea, but also of his kindness and compassion.

Not on the sharks’ menu

James Sulikowski, director of Oregon State University’s Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station, agreed that shark attacks are rare because humans are not on the sharks’ menu.

“We’re not something sharks actively seek out,” Sulikowski said. “That’s just the bottom line. We don’t taste like what they’re used to – the texture is different. The problem is that we’re often in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

The way people move in the water and the sounds they make when splashing around with shiny watches resemble a dead and dying fish, which attracts sharks, he said. A surfboard can also resemble a seal or turtle, which can lead to confusion.

“Hundreds of millions of people swim in the oceans every year,” he said, “and only about 100 or 150 people worldwide are bitten by a shark, and maybe 10 of those bites are fatal.”

Statistically, more people die each year from rip currents and car accidents than from shark encounters, he said.

“We’re just not part of their normal diet,” he said. “If we were, a lot more people would be missing.”

In Hawaii, the last shark attack was reported on June 7 in Haleiwa, according to the Department of Land and Natural Resources. A 25-year-old woman was hospitalized in serious condition with cuts to her leg, forearm and hand.

The previous fatal attack occurred on December 30, when a man lost his left leg while surfing about 450 feet from shore in Paia Bay on Maui.

Surfer Mike Morita has survived the story of the 8- to 10-foot-long tiger shark that bit him in the right leg at Kewalo’s on Oahu in April 2023, causing severe injuries and the loss of his right foot. The water was reportedly clear that day.

Tiger sharks everywhere

Tiger sharks are found in the waters around the Hawaiian Islands, according to Holland, who is currently using a satellite transmitter to track the movements of a tiger shark nicknamed “Waianae Boy” off the west coast of Oahu.

“There’s virtually no place in the Hawaiian Islands where there aren’t tiger sharks,” he said. “They’re found in very shallow and fairly deep waters, and they’re found far offshore.”

Most scientists believe that the frequency of shark attacks is due to the high number of people in the sea, which increases the likelihood of encounters with sharks.

Sulikowski recommends not bringing shiny objects into the water and not swimming at dawn and dusk or in areas with heavy fishing.

Holland said his golden rule was not to go into the sea alone.

Many deaths and serious injuries are due to shock or blood loss, he said, and these could be reduced if someone was on hand to help or call for help.

“The reality is that the ocean is the sharks’ home,” Sulikowski said. “We are visitors and we need to be very careful when we enter an environment where we don’t belong.”

Emilia Perry wrote that Tamayo Perry’s death, as tragic as it was, left the world with a legacy of doing what he loved, where he loved it.

“It gives us strength to know that he is in heaven with our Lord Jesus Christ, trading barrels at Pipeline with his friends who were here before him,” she wrote.

Details of Perry’s celebration of life are pending.

History of recent shark attacks in Hawaii

• June 7: Haleiwa, about 3 miles from shore, 600 feet deep. A victim swimming with sharks suffered cuts to his leg, forearm and hand. Considered a provoked incident.

• March 2: Kaaawa, Kualoa Beach, 5 to 10 feet from shore. Victim was swimming and sustained lacerations to left foot. Nature unknown.

• December 30: Paia Bay, Maui, approximately 450 feet from shore. Victim was surfing when he lost a leg in the attack and died. Species unknown.

• October 25: Haleiwa, Pauena Beach Park, approximately 160 meters from shore. The victim was surfing when the tiger shark attacked, causing cuts to his right leg.

October 15: Hanalei Bay, Kauai, about 1,100 feet from shore. The victim was surfing when the tiger shark attacked, causing cuts and puncture wounds to the left leg.

• April 9, 2023: Kewalo’s, Oahu, about 200 yards from shore. The victim was surfing when the tiger shark attacked, resulting in severe leg injuries and the loss of his right foot.

Source: DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources/Incident List