A fisherman sustained injuries after being bitten by a blue shark while fishing off the coast of County Waterford, Ireland. The incident occurred while Sebastian Achim was aboard a small boat. He is scheduled to undergo surgery for his injuries.
Blue sharks are known to inhabit Irish waters from June to October and are considered a significant marine sport fish. According to Inland Fisheries Ireland, they are long-distance migrants. Marine biologist and cinematographer Jack Kelly noted that blue sharks are common around Britain and Ireland during the summer months and are known for their curiosity, often investigating objects by circling and bumping them.
These sharks can grow to over three meters in length and primarily feed on fish, squid, smaller sharks, and seabirds in open water. The conservation status of the blue shark is listed as near threatened on the Irish Red List for cartilaginous fish and by the IUCN Red List.
From 1970 to 2013, the Marine Sportfishing Tagging Programme tagged 19,309 blue sharks off the coast of Ireland, representing 45% of all fish tagged since the program's inception. This is not the first recorded instance of a shark bite off the Irish coast; in 2018, a man fishing in Belfast was bitten by a blue shark while bringing it aboard, resulting in a serious lower arm injury.