If confirmed it will be the first shark attack in British waters in 175-years
The woman injured in a suspected shark off the coast of the UK has spoken out about the “very scary incident” but said she doesn’t want it to “tarnish the reputation” of sharks.
The unnamed woman had been on a snorkelling trip in Penzance harbour on 28 July when her leg was injured. She was taken to shore and treated by paramedics before being taken to hospital for stitches.
The incident was thought to be the first unprovoked shark attack in British waters since 1847. Several species of shark visit the waters off Cornwall every year, including blue sharks, porbeagle sharks and basking sharks.
The woman later said in a statement that “despite how the trip ended, it was amazing to see such majestic creatures in the wild and I don’t for a second want this freak event to tarnish the reputation of an already persecuted species”.
The woman acknowledged in her statement that, “we all take risks when we enter the habitat of a predator and we can never completely predict the reactions of a wild animal” and went on to thank “everyone for their amazing actions” in responding to the incident.
“What was a very scary incident was made so much easier by the kindness and calmness of the people around me,” she said, adding: “Thank you to the trip team for getting me back to shore quickly and carefully and making me feel as safe as I possible could.”
HM Coastguard said it is believed the injury was caused by a suspected shark bite. If confirmed, it would mark the first incident of its kind in 175 years.
The Penzance Coastguard Rescue Team sent a team to “meet a snorkeler who suffered a suspected shark bite”, a HM Coastguard spokesperson said.
“The coastguard was notified just before 12.30pm on Thursday (July 28). It is believed the swimmer suffered a leg injury.
“The coastguard team met the casualty at Penzance harbour to assist with passing them into the care of the ambulance service.”
According to Historic Cornwall, there are four predatory shark species that frequent the Cornwall coast, including the blue, porbeagle, thresher and mako shark. Generally, attacks in British waters only occur when sharks are provoked during human activities such as fishing.
The boat tour agency that organised the woman’s snorkelling trip also released a statement fearful that the story could lead to “bad press for the sharks”.
It said in a statement: “As we know, these things can happen when we choose to interact with wild animals in their own environment. “The last thing we want is to let speculation drive the media into a world of bad press for the sharks, under no fault of their own.”
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