A two-mile stretch of coastal waters off South Maui was closed Wednesday after two divers reported aggressive behavior by a shark that followed them to shore near Little Beach — just two days after a fatal attack on a kayak fisherman nearby.

State officials said the divers told lifeguards that an 8- to 10-foot Galapagos shark made several passes at them while they were spearfishing close to shore off Black Sand Beach at Makena about 11:20 a.m. They said they tried to fend off the shark with their spears but it kept coming, so they let it take their catch and headed back to shore at Little Beach, according to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Officials closed shoreline waters from Makena Landing to an area called Dumps, a mile in each direction from the location of the report, as a precautionary measure.

DLNR officials said they will reassess whether to reopen the area after sunrise today.

"Beachgoers, swimmers, fishers/divers are advised to comply with this closure in the interest of public safety. The state recommends that spear fishermen with speared fish on a line should be extra cautious," said Randy Awo, chief of DLNR’s Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement.

The closure follows a shark attack Monday that killed Washington state visitor Patrick A. Briney, who was kayak-fishing in waters a half-mile off Little Beach in Makena.

That incident marked the second fatal attack, and the eighth shark incident so far this year, in waters off Maui. German visitor Jana Lutteropp, 20, suffered fatal injuries Aug. 14 at White Rock.

There have been 13 shark attacks in Hawaii this year.

The spike in attacks off Maui has prompted a study that is being conducted to determine the movement and habits of sharks off the island.