Maui Death Raises Questions About Spike in Hawaiian Shark Attacks

A shark killed a fisherman off the Maui coast on Monday, Maui County Ocean Safety officials reported, when it bit his foot, which he had dangled over the side of his kayak.

The attack was the eighth near Maui and the thirteenth in Hawaiian waters this year—more than triple the 20-year average of about four unprovoked shark incidents each year.

Patrick Briney, the fisherman, was Hawaii's second shark attack fatality this year, following an August attack on a German snorkeler. Prior to 2013 there hadn't been a single fatal shark attack in Hawaii since 2004.

This year's attacks, on top of ten Hawaiian attacks last year, have people asking whether there's been a recent statistical anomaly or whether more shark attacks are Hawaii's new normal.

Yannis Papastamatiou, a marine biologist at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, said it's ...more