Shark bites surfer on hand on Northern California coast, officials say

A shark bit a surfer on the hand near Bodega Bay along the Northern California coastline, sheriff’s officials reported.

A surfer at North Salmon Creek Beach on the Sonoma County coast reported being bitten on Friday, Dec. 12, the county sheriff’s office said in a news release.

Rescuers found the injured surfer already on shore, deputies said. The surfer declined medical help and went to a hospital.

Sheriff’s officials told KTVU “the surfer was 300 to 400 yards from shore and surrounded by an 8- to 12-foot wave” when he was bitten.

The shark also bit the surfboard, a photo posted by the sheriff’s office showed.

Bodega Bay is about a 70-mile drive northwest from San Francisco.

What to know about shark attacks

Shark attacks are “extremely rare,” according to John Carlson of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“You have a better chance of getting in a car accident and being injured on your way to the beach than you do actually when you get to go swimming,” he said in a video posted to NOAA’s website.

In 2023, the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File investigated 120 shark-human interactions worldwide. Of those interactions, 69 were unprovoked shark bites, and there were 14 “shark-related fatalities.”

If you see a shark in the water, however, don’t panic, Richard Peirce, former chair of the Shark Trust and Shark Conservation Society, told CNN.

“Don’t start splashing around – you’re just going to excite, incite and encourage the shark’s interest,” he told the news outlet.

Instead, maintain eye contact with the shark and read its body language. If the shark appears to be in “attack mode,” you should make yourself as large as possible, CNN reported. If it seems to just be swimming by, try to stay small.

If the shark attacks, experts told CNN you shouldn’t play dead.

“You must try and keep the animal in sight and very slowly and gently try and swim backwards and get into shallow water,” Peirce told CNN. “Again, you’ve got to be careful – large sharks can attack in very shallow depths.”