The two attacks that made the news were the Maui attack on the couple kayak fishing off Olowalu, Maui on May 22nd, and the attack on the surfer at Cromwells, near Diamond Head, Oahu on May 30th. Besides these attacks, surfers on Oahu reported sharks popping up near them to check them out. I got attacked by a tiger shark near Chinaman’s Hat, Oahu on May 12, 2023. Yet May isn’t officially recognized as an attack heavy month.
The Maui couple believe it was a 12ft plus tiger shark that grabbed onto their kayak and shook it before being punched and releasing the yak. The couple were shaken but unharmed.
The Cromwells surfer believes it was an 8ft Galapagos shark that bit both his legs. Fortunately he was able to paddle in, and paramedics were able to stop the bleeding and get him to the hospital where he is recovering nicely.
Olowalu, Maui is a known mating ground for tiger sharks, and the Black Point – Diamond Head area is known by divers and surfers to be sharky. But is it coincidental that these attacks occurred in May?
The DLNR Shark Incident Log hasn’t been updated since 12/9/2025 and doesn’t include my May 2023 attack, leading me to believe it’s far from comprehensive. The attacks logged are still pretty scary.
Wow! This is very concerning.
It especially struck home to me because I have surfed and kayak fished where the Cromwells attack occurred and was attacked in May yet that somehow wasn’t added to shark incident list even though I informed DLNR. Made me wonder how many other attacks didn’t make the list.
https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/sharks/shark-incidents/incident-graphs/
The DLNR has data going back to 1950, broken out by month and fatal versus non-fatal. Looks like October has been the most active month, with April and December having the most fatal attacks. It would be interesting to see a more recent time series to see if May has been a more recently active month. I think May is traditionally when people tend to start getting back and shark metabolisms probably start speeding up as temperatures warm. As a fly fisherman who primarily wades, I try to avoid water more than 3ft deep or so. Never know what’s out there
Thanks for that DLNR chart Jason. Definitely could be that water activity increases in May with humans and sharks…
I’m hyper aware of anything resembling a shark splashing or finning now!
State PROBABLY not reporting anything not involving injuries/fatalities because HVB no like spook the money bags (oops, tourists) coming to vacation and frolick around in the ocean?
I highly suspect you are right Rich.