Shark attack victim to undergo surgery after Waterford bite ordeal

Fisherman ‘didn’t think he was going to make it’

The fishing enthusiast, from Romania, told RTÉ's Morning Ireland he feared he would not survive: “I didn't think I was going to make it.”

Mr Achim had been tagging blue sharks for research with three crew mates, three hours from shore, when they pulled one on board.

He removed the hook easily and stayed at least half a metre from its tail before it struck. “It just jumped in a millisecond. He just jumped and just grabbed into my calf,” he said. He tied a rope around his leg to stem the bleeding and passed out about 10 minutes after the attack.

He was winched from the boat by a rescue helicopter and says he owes it his life: “I was very lucky to get back ok, only because of the helicopter, (otherwise) I don't think I would have made it because I lost too much blood.”

'The fish is in the right': no grudge after shark attack

Mr Achim holds nothing against the animal, The Journal reports. “I cannot say if it's a deliberate attack... Anyway, the fish is in the right. The fish was in his survival instinct. And we just threw him back in the water,” he said.

Doctors say surgery will replace missing tissue and skin using another part of his body. He cannot yet put weight on the leg and hopes lost feeling will return, capping a dramatic summer for emergency crews after the serious Dublin Airport approach incident involving an Aer Lingus flight.