Shark Attacks In Hawaii Spark Predator Study

A study is to be carried out on tiger sharks in Hawaii following a spate of attacks on humans.

In the last month alone there have been four attacks – the same number Hawaii usually sees in an entire year – although it is not clear what type of shark was involved in each incident.

A 20-year-old German tourist lost her arm in an attack last week as she snorkelled off the coast of Maui.

And four days later, a 16-year-old surfer suffered injuries to both legs after being bitten by a shark in waters off the Big Island.

In total there have been eight attacks in Hawaii so far this year and 10 in 2012.

In response, officials plan to spend the next two years studying tiger sharks in waters around Maui as not much is known of their movements.

A German tourist lost an arm In an attack off Palauea Beach on Maui Island

Dr Carl Meyer, a marine biologist with the University of Hawaii, said the "tag and track" study will focus on tiger sharks because they move around frequently and have been known to travel all around the islands' waters.

He said tiger sharks can travel up to 100 miles in a day, do not stay in one area very long and can swim in very shallow waters if they choose to.

William Aila, chairman of the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, said the study will help determine if signs, closures or other measures are needed to reduce encounters between sharks and humans.

He said "empirical data" was needed before taking action.

Mr Aila insisted that Hawaii waters are safe if swimmers are cautious.

However, he said current opinion is that there are more sharks and more people in Hawaiian waters, creating more chances for bites.

"We know that the impression is that there is an inordinate amount of shark attacks that have happened recently," he said.

"We just want to make it clear that within the history of the state of Hawaii, the number of shark attacks have gone up, and they've gone down, and there have been some years we've actually had no shark attacks."

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