State conservation officials were investigating a shark attack on a woman off Keawakapu Beach on Friday — the seventh off Maui this year.
The attack, reported to authorities at about 1:20 p.m. Friday, occurred in South Maui waters while the woman was snorkeling, according to initial reports from witnesses.
The woman, from Paia, was snorkeling about 30 yards offshore when she was attacked by the shark, leaving her with a cut on her shin and a 6-inch-long wound on her calf, said Cary Kayama, a Maui County Ocean Safety official. Kayama said according to first responders to the emergency call, the snorkeler’s calf bone was visible.
"She definitely needed surgery," Kayama said.
The incident marks the third shark attack in the area within the last 10 years and the 12th in the state this year, according to hawaiisharks.com.
Warning signs were posted, and the waters off Keawakapu were closed until at least noon today.
Laura Stevens, spokeswoman for the state Board of Land and Natural Resources, said, "Our concern is for public safety. That’s why we’re closing and are informing beachgoers about the incident."
The attack at Keawakapu Beach was about three miles north of White Rock, where 20-year-old visitor Jana Lutterop died after being bitten by a shark Aug. 14.
The other two shark incidents at Keawakapu included an attack on a swimmer who was bitten on the calf about 30 yards from shore in about 25 feet of water on Oct. 29, 2007, and a swimmer who lost the top part of a ring finger and all of the small finger on the left hand while about 200 to 400 yards from shore in 30 feet of water on Dec. 21, 2005.
The growing number of shark attacks on Maui has prompted the state to launch a study about the movement of tiger sharks in Maui County.
In the two-year study, which got underway in late August, scientists are tagging sharks with acoustical and satellite tracking devices.
State officials say the prevailing theory as to why shark attacks are on the rise is tied to an increase in people in shoreline waters and that 40 to 50 years have passed since the last shark-culling.
According to hawaiisharks.com, five other shark attacks on Maui in 2013 include an attack upon a surfer at Paia Bay on Feb. 21, another surfer at Honokowai on Feb. 21, a snorkeler at Ulua Beach on July 31, a swimmer at Waiehu on Oct. 23 and a kite-surfer at Kanaha on Oct. 31.
Maui is the only island in the state on which shark warning signs are posted permanently.
The decision to post permanent warning signs at Olowalu followed three shark attacks in the area, including one that killed Maui resident Marti Morrell in 1991.
