Maui beaches close after shark attacks visitor

A 6-inch wound on a man's leg sends him to the hospital

A 6-inch bite to the calf sent a California visitor to the hospital yesterday as South Maui logged its fifth shark attack in two years.

The man, 32, was expected to undergo surgery last night to close the wound, inflicted in murky waters off Wailea. The type of shark involved was not known.

Beaches from Polo Beach to Mokapu Beach Park were closed yesterday and were expected to remain closed at least until noon today, pending a survey of the ocean this morning.

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WAILUKU » A 32-year-old Los Angeles man was attacked by a shark yesterday in waters off Wailea -- the fifth shark attack reported in South Maui in the past two years.

The man was bitten in the left calf and was expected to undergo surgery last night to close the wound, said Maui Memorial Medical Center spokesman Carol Clark.

Clark said the wound did not appear to be life-threatening, and the man was in "good condition."

The attack took place at about 3:30 p.m. while the man was about 30 yards offshore, said Randy Awo, Maui branch chief for conservation enforcement.

Awo said the man was floating in waters about 25 feet deep between the Four Seasons Resort and Grand Wailea when he felt a bite on his left calf.

"He did see it was a shark. ... The body was gray," Awo said.

"He couldn't tell what kind of shark it was. He couldn't estimate the size."

Awo said conditions were choppy and the water was murky, reducing visibility in the water.

People helped the man out of the water after the attack, a state official said.

Beaches from Polo Beach to Mokapu Beach Park were closed yesterday and were expected to remain closed at least until noon today, pending a survey of the ocean this morning.

Sparks said none of the state beach enforcement personnel who responded to the report of the attack have seen the shark.

Maui County spokeswoman Mahina Martin said initial reports indicated the man had a 6-inch-long wound on the left calf.

There have been four other reported shark attacks in South Maui waters in the past couple of years -- all of them nonfatal.

» On May 7 a shark bit a female swimmer's right foot at Keawakapu in Kihei.

» Last November a shark attacked a Canadian man off Kamaole II.

» In February 2006 a shark bit a woman on her right leg while she waded in the water at Big Beach.

» In December 2005 a shark attacked a California man at Keawakapu beach.

Last week, various beaches along South Maui were closed occasionally due to a 6-foot hammerhead shark swimming close to the shoreline, sometimes within several feet of the beach.

The hammerhead shark was found dead Friday, entangled in an abandoned net in waters off Cove Park in Kihei.

The shark had apparently been sick and had numerous parasites on its body, state officials said.

Hammerhead sharks are known to give birth in South Maui waters around this time of year, according to a state aquatics expert.