HONOLULU (KHON2) - On Thursday, Honolulu Ocean Safety spotted a non-aggressive 12-foot tiger shark about 30 yards from the break wall at Magic Island.
Shark warning signs went up in the area.
"We saw the sign and that was it and I said I wasn't getting in the water today because of it," said Kakaako Wrise Dyson. Her husband said they would watch each others back just to be safe, but also said he felt safer with the break wall blocking the area. "I don't see it jumping over these barriers so," said Brennan Dyson.
It's the sixth time shark warning signs have had to be posted in the last week on Oahu.
On June 19 and 20, the City and County of Honolulu posted shark warning signs after an aggressive 10-foot tiger shark was spotted at Makaha beach.
On Sunday, June 23, a shark fatally killed ocean safety lifeguard Tamayo Perry.
On Monday, June 24, there was a possible shark bite at Anaeho'omalu Bay on Hawaii island. According to police, there said a 20-year-old visitor was swimming and felt pain on his foot and was bleeding profusely. Medics told Hawaii police that injuries were consistent with a shark bite.
Also on Monday, June 24, a 10-to-12-foot aggressive shark was spotted at Kahe Point.
On Tuesday, June 25, a 10-to-12-foot shark bumped a canoe on Oahu's North Shore off Puaena Point, with enough force to crack the canoe.
And then a surfer on Maui claimed a shark bit his surfboard near Waiehu.
"The number of sightings is normal, they're always here and if people look really hard, you'll see a shark but the number of direct encounters this week is a blip yes for sure," said Dr. Andrew Rossiter, Waikiki Aquarium director.
He said without knowing what the sharks were doing before the incidents, it's hard to know what made the sharks act aggressively toward humans.
"There's definitely a strong correlation between the number of people in the water and the number of shark encounters," he added.
Tiger sharks can reach 15-to-18 feet in length. Most of the recent sightings have been 10 to 12 feet which are adults.
"The ones that are biting canoes, and surfboards are much bigger sharks so you can narrow that down to tiger sharks or great whites and those are exploratory bites looking for food."
According to state data up to 2023, there were 37 attacks that occurred in the month of October, which is the most of any month and is typically when females come to shallow waters to give birth.
Experts said fatal attacks are extremely rare on Oahu, with the last one reported in the 90s.
There have been no studies done that show a correlation between warmer weather and sharks here in Hawaii. Dr. Rossiter also said it's unlikely tigers are coming closer to shore because of a bigger predator like a Great White is swimming nearby.
Experts remind people to swim in groups or around others, do not wear jewelry while swimming as it can be mistaken as fish scales, do not splash excessively, don’t swim at dusk or dawn, and avoid swimming near river mouths especially after it's been raining, and if you see schools of fish jumping out of the water, don’t investigate, they are likely being chased by something.