David Pickering was bitten on the right forearm by a tiger shark while snorkelling at The Lagoon, near Coral Bay, Western Australia

Tour Operator David Pickering, 26, was bitten on the right forearm by what is believed to be a 3-metre tiger shark while guiding a group of snorkellers at The Lagoon, north of Coral Bay in Western Australia.

The incident happened about 100 metres from the shore at around 2pm on 19 January 2012.

According to press reports Pickering suffered tendon damage, but his injuries were not life threatening.

The Royal Flying Doctor Service, which flew in to pick him up, said he suffered some nasty lacerations to his forearm and that he was being taken to Perth for treatment. He was reported in stable condition.

According to press reports, another operator said he highly doubted it would be a tiger shark claiming it was more likely to be a reef shark that bit Pickering since there were thousands in the area.

No other details were immediately available.

Sources:
Perth Now
Sydney Morning Herald

PIC source:
Perth Now

A chunk was bitten from this surfboard by a bull shark that attacked a surfer leaving severe lacerations to his thigh.

UPDATE: The surfer’s name is Glen Folkard. He describes how the shark followed his blood trail as he paddled back to the beach after the attack – Daily Telegraph
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A surfer, aged 44 (name not released) suffered a large laceration to his upper thigh after being attacked by what is believed to be a bull shark. The shark also bit out a chunk of the man’s surfboard.

The incident happened around 5pm on Wednesday 18 January 2012 at Redhead Beach, near Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.

According to press reports the man managed to paddle to shore while losing a lot of blood where he was hauled up the beach by a group of surfers. He was assisted by lifeguards before paramedics arrived and transported him to John Hunter Hospital in a serious condition.

A witness described the scene as if it was from the movie Jaws.

“It was kind of like Jaws, you know, the scene at the start … where everybody’s pulled out of the water and it’s a hot day and the water’s inviting.”

When they pulled him from the water “his skin was really grey, he obviously lost quite a lot of blood”.

No other details were reported.

Sources:

ABC Online
News.com.au

PIC Source:
News.com.au

This surfer died after trying to fight off a shark attack at Second Beach, Port St Johns, South Africa

A 25-year-old surfer (name not released) was killed by an unidentified shark while surfing with friends at Second Beach, Port St Johns, Eastern Cape, South Africa. The incident happened about 3pm on Sunday 15 January 2012.

According to a report in the Daily Dispatch the surfer sustained severe injuries to his chest and arms after fighting off the shark  with his surfboard.

According to the report, he fought the shark for at least 5 minutes before being pulled from the water by a surfer and other swimmers. Lifeguards and a doctor at the beach at the time treated his wounds before emergency paramedics arrived. He died on route to hospital.

An eye witness was quoted as saying:

“I saw the fin of the shark and  as I told people to get out of the  water I heard him scream and  within seconds the water had  turned red.”

“He had a surfboard with him and he used it to wrestle off the shark.

“Lifeguards started blowing their whistles, but by that time there was blood everywhere.

“I have never seen so much blood in my life. I am not sure if I will ever be able to swim there again.”

According to the newspaper, the surfer called on others in the water to get out while he tried to fight off the shark with his board.

National Sea Rescue Institute  spokesman said the sea at the time had poor visibility and the water was very warm.

There has been a spate of shark attacks at this beach in the past few years – several of them fatal.

Sources:

Daily Dispatch
IOL

PIC Source
Daily Dispatch

A surfer is taken to hospital after suffering minor shark bite wounds to his right wrist and forearm while surfing late in the evening at North Avoca Beach, near Gosford, New South Wales, Australia

A 28-year-old surfer – name not released –  was bitten on the his right wrist and forarm by a juvenile white shark while surfing at North Avoca Beach, near Gosford,  New South Wales, Australia. The incident happened about 8pm on Tuesday 3 January 2012.

According to an eye witness, the shark bit onto his right arm while he was lying on his surfboard. He used his left hand to hit the shark on the snout and it swam away. He suffered a 5cm wound to his right wrist and forearm.

He paddled to shore and was treated by paramedics before being taken to Gosford Hospital where he was reported to be in  satisfactory condition.

Sources:

BigPond News

ABC News

PIC Source
Video screen grab from BBC News

Félix Junior Lainez Trejos was bitten on the leg while surfing at Punta Barandúa, Santa Elena, Ecuador

Félix Junior Lainez Trejos, 23, was bitten by what is presumed to be a shark on the lower left leg while surfing at Punta Barandúa, Santa Elena, Ecuador. The incident happened on 24 December 2011.

He was taken to the hospital Rafael Serrano for medical treatment.

No other details were reported.

Sources:

El Universo

PIC source:
Sharkyear

The Tabanan surf spot in Bali - the site of a shark attack on 29 November 2011

Australian Mark Andrews, 18, was bitten on the right hand by a shark while surfing with friends at Tabanan in Bali, Indonesia. The incident happened about 1.30pm on Tuesday 29 November 2011.

A brief media report said the teenager received surgery at the Bali International Medical Clinic, but that the wound was not serious and that he was expected to make a full recovery.

No details about the size or species of shark were reported.

Sources:
The Telegraph

PIC Source:
Pondok Pitaya Surfer Hotel

He said he felt the bite when he was preparing to catch another wave. “I remember being very nervous, he bit my leg and let go.”

The incident took place on Saturday afternoon, 12 November 2011.

Jerônimo paddled to shore and was taken to the Hospital Miguel Arraes in Paulista.

He suffered injuries to both of his legs and his surfboard was damaged.

The right leg had only minor injuries, but the wound on the left side was more severe – about 30cm long – and required surgery. He was hospitalised for two days, according to press reports..

Apparently the victim had ignored a surfing ban that had been put in place to prevent shark attacks in this region.

Source:

Shark Year magazine

Eric Tarantino was bitten on the neck by a shark while surfing in Califormia

Eric Tarantino, 27, was surfing with friends Saturday morning, 29 October 2011, at Marina State Beach in Monterey County, California, US, when a 9-foot shark bit him on the neck and right forearm. The shark also left teeth marks on his surfboard. The attack occurred just after 7am.

Tarantino was airlifted to the Regional Medical Center of San Jose.

A witness was quoted as saying: “It was still twilight and Eric and a friend were the first two out there. Within about 10 minutes we saw both of them turn around and start paddling in quickly, and a lot of us who surf here consistently realized right away they must have seen a shark.”

His friend was who was with Eric in the water was quoted as saying: “Eric had paddled a little bit deeper than me, onto the peak. I went up over the top of the wave and as I was coming down I could hear him yelling ‘Shark! Shark!’ And at that point we turned around and started paddling in as fast as we could. Luckily, a few minutes later a set came in and we were able to catch it and ride in on our stomachs.”

He said he turned around and saw Tarantino four feet away. His arm was bleeding badly and the water around him was red with blood.

He helped Tarantino ashore.

“We got to the shore, and there were a couple of guys walking on the beach with their boards and I asked them to call 911.”

They used beach towels to make a tourniquet on his arm and to staunch the bleeding from his neck.

Paramedics arrived about eight minutes later, witnesses said, and treated Tarantino before transporting him to Marina Municipal Airport. From there, he was airlifted to San Jose.

A witness in the parking lot said: “The gash to the top of Eric’s forearm was probably 2 inches long. The two gashes on the wrist area were about 4 to 6 inches. The injury to his neck was 2 inches, but fairly deep. But he was conscious and responsive when people were talking to him and his colour looked good.”

The bite narrowly missed Tarantino’s jugular vein and carotid artery, a hospital spokesperson said.

It was not reported what species of shark it was.

Sources:

Washington Post

Monterey Herald

PIC Source:
Washington Post

“Luckily he’s a tough guy. He’s in hospital, and he’s being very well looked after,” he said.

“This is not an aggressive shark, it’s not a species of shark that will deliberately go out and hunt a diver, but the animal got scared and it lashed out, and unfortunately his arm was in the way at that time.”

No other details were reported.

Source:
East Coast Radio

Initial reports are quite thin. All they say is that witnesses on the dive boat saw a large amount of bubbles before the man surfaced with ‘horrific’ and ‘obviously fatal’ injuries.

Two people on the boat described the shark as a 3-metre great white.

It is the third fatal shark attack off the west coast of Australia in two months.

The blog will be updated when we have more details.

Sources:

The Guardian
Channel News Asia