A Coromandel fisherman was bit by a shark when it began thrashing about after he hauled it in and started cutting into it.
Photo: 123rf.com
The Auckland Rescue Helicopter was called to Tairua yesterday after the shark bit the man and left him with lacerations to his foot.
The man, in his 30s and from Auckland, had just hauled the 1.5 metre mako shark onto his boat.
He thought it was dead.
However, a rescue helicopter spokesperson said the fisherman started to cut off the shark's head and it then began to thrash about wildly on the boat deck.
She said the fisherman was shocked to find the shark was not dead.
He was taken in an ambulance from the marina to a helicopter landing site, and was then taken to Middlemore Hospital in a moderate condition.
