Maui Shark Attacks Are: ‘An Absolute Danger, Every Single Day’

In the eighth Maui shark attack this year, a 57-year-old kayaker has died.

The victim, Patrick Briney from Stevenson, Wash., was fishing in his kayak off the coast of Maui and Molokini when he was attacked by the shark. The state Department of Land and Natural Resources said that the shark bit the man’s dangling foot while he was fishing.

Briney’s fishing partner, who was in an adjacent kayak, tried to save his friend’s life by attempting to stem the bleeding with a tourniquet. A nearby boat assisted by ferrying the men to shore before the man was taken to a nearby hospital.

The public have been warned to stay out of the water for now even though the Maui shark attack took place a good distance from the shore. Being that there have been eight shark attacks this year in and around Maui and 13 Statewide.

Department Chairman, William Aila Jr., said about the attacks: “We are not sure why these bites are occurring more frequently than normal, especially around Maui. That’s why we are conducting a two-year study of shark behavior around Maui that may give us better insights.”

Back in August of this year a German tourist lost her life in a Maui shark attack after losing her arm to a shark while snorkeling in southwest Maui. Previous to that fatality, the last death caused by a shark attack in Maui was in 2004 when Willis McInnis was bitten while surfing in Maui.

Issac Brumaghim, a kayak fisher in Maui, spoke about his experience with a shark attack in April when a camera he had on his boat captured a shark stealing the huge tuna he was reeling in.

Brumaghim said that sharks are : “An absolute danger, every single day. You have to respect the fact they can bite you at any time. Just a little bit of blood, a little meat in the water, that’s all you need. It’s like dogs out there.”