A man has been hospitalised after he was bitten by a shark off the coast of Cork on Saturday evening.
Volunteers from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) left Crosshaven and sped to the scene where the man was picked up and ferried back to shore. He was immediately brought to Cork University Hospital.
According to reports, the man is from Belfast, and sustained a significant injury to his lower arm. He has not been publicly named.
Shark bites are actually extremely rare — with only 36 fatal attacks occurring in America since 1837. Blue sharks are the most common type of shark found off the coast of Cork, and it is unusual for them to bite a human.
However, just a few months ago, Ken Collins from Southampton University told The Sun that climate change could see more and more sharks migrating towards Ireland. Collins specifically name-checked Cork as a likely destination for the migrating sharks.
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