Department of Land and Natural Resources

For Immediate News Release: November 26, 2020

SHARK WARNING SIGNS UP IN WEST MAUI FOLLOWING AFTERNOON INCIDENT 

(Kahului) – Warning signs are up on either side of Honokowai Beach Park in West Maui after an apparent shark incident this afternoon. Officers from the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) put signs up north from Kahana Village Vacation Rentals and south to Papakea Resort, just north of Airport beach. 

It was reported that a woman, visiting from California, was swimming 100-yards off-shore of Mahina Surf Condominiums when a companion near-by saw a fin in the water and reported the woman was bitten by a shark. She was taken to the hospital.  

DOCARE officers and personnel from the DLNR Division of Aquatics Resources (DAR) will conduct a further inquiry into the details of the incident. Standard protocol is for warning signs to remain up until noon, the day following an incident, after the waters have been patrolled by county and/or state officials to detect any further shark presence. 

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Media Contact: 

Dan Dennison 
Senior Communications Manager 
(808) 587-0396 
[email protected]