From John Fischer,
Your Guide to Hawaii / South Pacific for Visitors.
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February 28, 2006
Last Friday morning the remains of a shark-bitten body of a free diver were recovered off the coast of Maui. Anthony Moore, a 45-year-old from San Jose, California had been free diving alone the prior afternoon in South Maui at a place known as "Five Graves," a popular snorkeling site about a mile offshore. He was reported missing by his wife when he failed to return that evening. Autopsy results indicated he was likely dead before he was attacked by a shark.
Yesterday a 15-year-old local girl from Kihei was bitten on the leg by a shark yesterday at Makena State Park not far from where Moore's remains were found on Friday. The girl had been swimming near the shoreline in about one to three feet of murky water. Initial reports indicate the girl suffered a 12-inch wound on her right calf. While shark attacks make headlines in the news, they remain a rare occurrence.
1. Don't swim alone.
2. Swim in guarded areas.
3. Avoid swimming at dusk.
4. Don't swim with bleeding wounds.
5. Avoid murky water.
6. Don't wear bright jewelry or high contrasting colors.
7. Refrain from excessive splashing.
8. Don't swim if sharks are known to be present.
9.Be alert if turtles and fish are fleeing the area.
10.Remove speared fish from the water.

Thank you for sharing this, riggsie.

You are very welcome Tiff. We will arrive on Maui on March 27th and (24 days!!) We will follow the advice for sure and keep an eye on our two boys 12 and 14! Makena (big beach) is one of our favorites too! We will spend most of our time west end of Island!

24 Days ~ wait, you need to just give me a moment to process that.



What a wonderful time you will have, your boys are such a great age for a Maui trip.

Man, 24 days ~ that is fantastic. Do you need someone to carry your luggage. I don't think I can wait until next January for our trip.

Aloha!

Just to clarify, Five Graves is not one mile offshore. It is rocky entry dive/snorkel site near Makena Landing. Makena Beach , where the girl was attacked is more than a mile away.
The girl was not swimming at the time of the attack, but standing with her boyfriend in knee deep water at the surfline.

Thanks for the clarification: As you can see from the beginning of my post..I took this straight from About.com -south pacific for vistors so they got it wrong.

We were at Makena Landing (the day before the diver was discovered), and I was snorkeling the area along with quite a few other people. There were also a lot of scuba divers and kayakers out and about. We left in the early afternoon, but heard later they had cleared the water and closed the beach.

On the previous Monday we were out at Molokini with Maui Dive Shop, and afterwards they stopped offshore of Makena where we snorkeled with turtles -- no reports of any sharks -- but there's also lots of whales out and about. BTW, saw many turtles close up.

1) Don't swim alone (no one to yell "shark" or provide any other help should you need it; note diver story).

2) Avoid murky water (you can't see sharks or much of anything else, and they can't see you -- they're running on other senses and instinct -- sharks will come into fairly shallow water if they sense something interesting to them).

3) Avoid swimming at dusk (this is when certain species of shark prefer to hunt and feed).

4) Don't swim with bleeding wounds (consider that sharks can sense a drop of blood in sea water from over a mile -- something for women to think about during certain periods of the month).


What I read in the news while on Maui was that the guy from San Jose was free diving (with snorkle & fins) and trying to break a 100 ft. diving record. So, after the autopsy, they suspect he drowned first and then was picked at by sharks later.

This may have brought some sharkes into the area, that may have resulted in the girl being bit.

DB- Your last few sentences is my explanation also. This will be our 5th time to Maui. But we never turn our backs on the ocean and are always very cautious of what is going on around us. Our boys (12 &14)love to snorkel and boogie board/surf. I am just alittle more nervous this time since DH is taking them out for 2nd time scuba diving. (Tried diving last summer in Tulum) They are not certified yet but don't have to do the intro. dive in the pool anymore. Cant wait. Hope weather is good and Whales are everywhere to see! Staying 5th floor ocean view this time to watch them! Mahalo for your reply!