A global surfing competition in New Zealand was temporarily suspended after an Australian photographer was bitten by a marine animal while working at sea. Initial assessments suggest the culprit was a sea lion rather than a shark, as initially feared.
A dramatic incident occurred during the global surfing event "New Zealand Pro" organized by the World Surf League (WSL) in Raglan on New Zealand’s North Island. The event organizers had to temporarily halt the tournament’s final rounds after the official photographer was attacked by a marine animal in the water.
The victim, Australian photographer Ed Solan, was bitten on his left foot by an unidentified marine animal, resulting in serious wounds. Medical teams and water patrol units quickly intervened and rushed him to the hospital. Initial fears had suggested the attack might have involved a shark.
Renato Hickel, WSL’s Vice President of Event Operations, revealed that the organizers declared a “Code Red” immediately following the incident. The attack happened while two Brazilian surfers, Yago Dora and Italo Ferreira, were competing in the men's semifinal.
"Italo and Yago were very shocked as they witnessed the incident firsthand, which was another reason we had to stop the competition immediately," Hickel added. "We are not yet 100 percent certain whether it was a shark or a sea lion, but local medical personnel who assisted believe the wounds were more likely caused by a sea lion than a shark. Nevertheless, it was a very frightening event."
The competition was suspended for several hours before resuming in the afternoon after organizers upgraded security measures to the highest level. This included deploying additional jet skis for patrol, using drones for aerial surveillance, and stationing staff to monitor the coastline continuously.
On that day, Brazilian surfer Italo Ferreira won the men’s title, while American surfer Carissa Moore claimed the women’s championship.
Hickel noted that this was the first time the organizers had to declare a “Code Red” since implementing the system, recalling a previous incident in July 2015 when Australian surfing star Mick Fanning was attacked by a shark during a WSL event in Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa. Fanning survived that attack miraculously by punching the shark on its back.
Source: AFP /BBC