Waterford shark: Man bitten by blue shark to undergo surgery

A man who was bitten by a shark on a boat off the coast of County Waterford is due to undergo surgery. Sebastian Achim was part of a crew tagging sharks for research off Ram Head, Ardmore, when the incident happened on Tuesday. The crew, who were experienced fishermen, were catching the sharks, tagging them and then releasing them back into the sea. Later in the day, Achim caught another shark and was bitten in the leg after pulling it into the boat. Speaking to RTÉ Radio One's Morning Ireland programme, Achim said the plan was to hook the shark, tag it and release it. He said he took the hook out of the shark easily and stayed a safe distance away, at least half a metre away from its tail. "I was just admiring the fish itself, when he just jumped in a millisecond and grabbed into my calf," Achim said. "I cannot say if it was a deliberate attack or it was not a deliberate attack, but the fish is in the right anyway, we took it out of the water and the fish was in his survival instinct," he said. "We just threw him back in the water, we didn't manage to tag him. We didn't want the fish to be more panicked than that." Achim said he managed to tie a rope above his leg wound and the cr

Aug 13, 2026 → Aug 13, 2026