A surfer in his 30s was attacked by a shark just north of Bodega Bay on Sunday morning, suffering wounds to his left thigh, according to emergency officials.
Other surfers offshore at Salmon Creek pulled the victim ashore and provided initial treatment, including a tourniquet, before a California Highway Patrol helicopter flew him to a hospital in Santa Rosa with what the CHP described as critical injuries, officials said.
Bodega Bay Volunteer Fire Department firefighter Josh Perucchi said the tourniquet was applied about 10 minutes after the bite, and the man’s bleeding was under control by the time he was flown out. “He was conscious and alert when he left the scene but obviously had a significant wound to his leg,” Perucchi said. “He’s expected to survive.”
Although local surfers say this is the time of year they typically see great white sharks, attacks are extremely rare, Perucchi said. A study published by Stanford scientists in 2015 found a 1-in-17 million risk of a surfer being attacked by a white shark off California. According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, there have been 198 shark “incidents” in the state since 1950, with at least 176 involving great whites, the species believed responsible for all 14 fatalities.
In June, a swimmer sustained injuries to one leg in a shark attack at Gray Whale Cove State Beach in San Mateo County. Last year, a shark believed to be a great white 10 to 12 feet long fatally bit surfer Ben Kelly at a beach just south of Santa Cruz.