‘Aggressive’ shark attack at Kewalo leaves surfer in serious condition

HONOLULU (KHON2) — Multiple agencies responded to a 911 call just before 7 a.m. on Sunday, April 9, for an apparent shark bite.

EMS said a 58-year-old man was bitten on his right leg by a shark while surfing.

Ocean Safety said friends in the lineup quickly made a tourniquet with their leashes to assist the man, saving his life.

Friends said the man was a regular at the Kewalos area.

According to EMS, the man is in serious condition. He was transported to a local area trauma center.

Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement officers are assisting Honolulu Ocean Safety lifeguards in warning ocean users of an apparent shark encounter early this morning at Kewalo Basin.

“We pretty much had the ocean safety PWC operators warn all of the surfers that the incident occurred, that there was a bite and please heed our warning and get out of the water at this time,” said Ocean Safety Lt. Dennis Coglietta.

According to DLNR, reports indicate an eight-foot tiger shark caused leg injuries to the 58-year-old Honolulu surfer.

DLNR added that when others came to the man’s aid, they report a shark returned and was acting aggressively.

Ocean Safety said a fisherman was also chased out of the area by a shark.

“We had one of our operators out this morning, out of the Kewalos unit who made direct contact with the shark and saw it at the Marine land area. And, it kind of subsided for a bit; and then, I want to, say maybe an hour or so ago [around 10:45 a.m.], it chased someone out of water that was fishing near Point Panic, even though the warning signs were up,” added Lt. Coglietta.

He went on to say that the signs will remain up. They do have jet skis patrolling the area and telling people that they need to be careful and not to go out into the water at this time.

Shark warning signs are posted, and all surfers and swimmers are cautioned to stay out of the area until noon on Monday, April 10.

DLNR said a dive boat with 30 passengers left the area after being cautioned about possible shark presence.

Honolulu Ocean Safety and DLNR said they will continue patrolling the waters off Kewalo Basin and Ala Moana due to this morning’s shark bite in the area of these waters.

According to DLNR’s website, this is the fourth shark incident so far in 2023, and third bite reported this year. It’s the first on Oahu.

The last time a shark attack was reported at Kewalos was in 2002.

KHON2 will update this story as the news unfolds.