Malibu kayaker is bitten TWICE by mako shark after hooking it and trying to set it free

From the Newshound archive · first published 6 October 2026.

A fisherman was hospitalised after a shortfin mako shark bit him twice off the Malibu coast on Sunday morning, in what officials initially described as a shark attack before reclassifying it as a fishing accident. He had hooked the fast, aggressive predator about two miles off Paradise Cove, and the shark bit him during his attempt to release it, knocking him into the water. It then turned and struck him a second time, wounding him both below and above the knee on his lower leg.

His girlfriend — a retired lifeguard — dialled 911, while passengers on a nearby fishing boat pulled him to safety.

California Fish and Wildlife said there had been no confirmed mako shark bites in the state since at least 1950.

The Paradise Cove Beach Cafe manager said: 'We've had a lot of crazy stuff happen here, but we've never had a shark attack like that.'