A fishing trip off Malibu turned harrowing Sunday morning when a man was reportedly bitten by a shark, according to initial reports. The incident, which left the unidentified man hospitalized, occurred around 7:30 a.m. about two miles off the coast near Paradise Cove.
The man was fishing from his kayak when he hooked a shortfin mako shark. As he attempted to release the powerful fish, the situation escalated. Lifeguard Alex Buford, speaking to NBC4, described the tense moments: “The shark bit him, he let the shark go and then the shark came back and knocked him off the boat and attacked him again and bit his leg again.”
Following the attack, the man was transported to a local hospital. His current condition remains unknown. The Los Angeles County Fire Department, which responded to the incident, could not be reached for further details as of Sunday evening.
This incident comes amidst a noticeable increase in shark sightings across Southern California's coastal waters in recent months, a trend that has prompted discussions among local ocean-goers and residents about the changing marine environment.
Just last month, for instance, anglers reported seeing a giant whale shark navigating the waters off Malibu and Santa Barbara Island. Such a sighting is considered exceptionally rare for the area, with experts suggesting it was likely influenced by the warmer ocean temperatures associated with the ongoing El Niño climate pattern.
Another notable sighting occurred in August, when a hammerhead shark was spotted off the Malibu pier. A person fishing from the pier managed to hook the shark, but after circling a few times, the shark reportedly spat out the bait, a moment that left the fishermen on the pier stunned.
The species involved in Sunday's incident, the shortfin mako shark, is well-known to inhabit the ocean waters off Malibu. According to the Department of Fish and Wildlife, these sharks were once a target of commercial fishing in California. The Department also identifies the shortfin mako as a species considered dangerous to humans, a classification stemming from their remarkable speed, considerable power, and imposing size, characteristics that make them formidable predators in the marine ecosystem.