Sebastian Achim, a crew member on a shark-tagging research trip off County Waterford, is scheduled to undergo surgery at Cork University Hospital today after being bitten on the leg by a shark on Tuesday. The incident happened off Ram Head, Ardmore, during a research expedition in which an experienced crew were catching, tagging and releasing sharks. Achim was later winched to safety by an Irish Coast Guard helicopter and flown to hospital for treatment.
According to RTÉ, the shark responsible for the bite was a blue shark, a species that can grow beyond three metres in length and typically hunts in open water. Achim recounted that he had been careful, keeping at least half a metre away from the animal's tail before it turned and bit him.
What exactly happened on the boat?
Achim had already handled one shark safely earlier in the day, removing a hook and releasing it without incident. Trouble came with a second shark he caught later, which bit him in the calf moments after he pulled it aboard.
Speaking to RTÉ Radio One's Morning Ireland programme, Achim explained that the goal had simply been to hook, tag and release the shark unharmed.
I was just admiring the fish itself, when he just jumped in a millisecond and grabbed into my calf.
He was reluctant to characterise the shark's behaviour as aggressive, framing the bite instead as an instinctive reaction from a frightened animal.
I cannot say if it was a deliberate attack or it was not a deliberate attack, but the fish is in the right anyway, we took it out of the water and the fish was in his survival instinct.
We just threw him back in the water, we didn't manage to tag him. We didn't want the fish to be more panicked than that.
How was Achim rescued?
After being bitten, Achim managed to tie a rope above the wound on his leg to slow the bleeding while the crew radioed for help. Multiple emergency services responded, including the Irish Coast Guard's Rescue 117 helicopter along with lifeboat crews from Ballycotton RNLI and Youghal RNLI.
Achim was winched aboard the helicopter and taken directly to Cork University Hospital. He said he lost a significant amount of blood and repeatedly lost consciousness while waiting for rescuers to reach the boat, which was roughly three hours from shore at the time.
I didn't think I was going to make it.
Once he reached hospital, the seriousness of his injury became clear as the adrenaline that had masked his pain wore off.
When I got to the hospital I realised the gravity, my adrenaline rush washed off.
Achim described the ordeal as frightening but said his focus throughout was on those around him rather than himself.
I was not scared for myself - I was just thinking about my girlfriend, trying to hold myself strong so I didn't scare the crew as well.
I was trying to keep myself awake so I didn't make anyone panic, it doesn't matter the gravity of the problem, it matters for me that the people around do not suffer because of my actions.
What injuries did he sustain, and what comes next?
Doctors have told Achim that he is missing tissue and skin from the wound and will require skin grafts. Per RTÉ, the surgery planned for today at Cork University Hospital will involve replacing the missing tissue and skin using graft material taken from another part of his body.
Achim has also said he currently cannot put any weight on the injured leg and has lost some sensation in the area, which he hopes will return once the surgery has been carried out, per the same RTÉ report.
What are blue sharks and how common are bites?
Blue sharks are long-distance migratory animals present in Irish waters mainly between June and October, when recreational anglers target them on a catch-and-release basis, according to Inland Fisheries Ireland. The agency describes the blue shark as one of Ireland's largest and most economically significant marine sport fish.
Jack Kelly, a marine biologist and cinematographer based in County Galway, said the species is frequently encountered around Britain and Ireland during the summer.
You can definitely get them in numbers.
Kelly, speaking to BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster, described sharks generally as remarkably curious animals that investigate unfamiliar objects by approaching and circling them rather than using limbs to explore.
If a shark approaches anything, really, it's not like they have fingers to be able to investigate to see what it is. So they have this amazing curiosity about them where they'll come, they'll just kind of circle and try to check out what's going on.
You'll often get them actually just really staring at you.
For me, when I'm underwater they might give the camera a bump just to see what it is, so their curiosity for me is definitely something that stands out.
Blue sharks can exceed three metres in length and feed in open water on fish, squid, smaller sharks and seabirds. Despite their size, the species is classified as near threatened on both the Irish Red List for cartilaginous fish and the IUCN Red List, according to Inland Fisheries Ireland.
The Marine Sportfishing Tagging Programme recorded 19,309 blue sharks tagged off the Irish coast between 1970 and 2013, representing 45% of all fish tagged under the programme since it began.
Has this happened before off the Irish coast?
This is not the first recorded shark bite in Irish waters. In 2018, a man from Belfast was seriously injured in his lower arm after being bitten while bringing a blue shark aboard a boat during an angling trip. He was assisted by Crosshaven RNLI in County Cork.
Our earlier coverage detailed the initial response to Tuesday's incident, describing how the man suffered a leg injury in a suspected shark bite off Ardmore on 12 August 2026, which triggered a multi-agency rescue involving lifeboats and a helicopter; see our report on the Waterford shark bite rescue.
What happens next?
Achim's surgery is scheduled to take place today at Cork University Hospital, where surgeons are expected to use skin and tissue grafts to repair the wound. He has said he is hopeful that feeling will gradually return to his leg once the operation is complete.
Key Facts
- Sebastian Achim was bitten on the calf by a blue shark off Ram Head, Ardmore, County Waterford, on 12 August 2026 during a research tagging trip.
- He was winched aboard the Irish Coast Guard's Rescue 117 helicopter and flown to Cork University Hospital after losing significant blood.
- Surgery involving skin and tissue grafts is scheduled for today at Cork University Hospital, according to RTÉ.
- Blue sharks, which can grow beyond three metres, are common in Irish waters between June and October and are classified as near threatened.
- A similar incident occurred in 2018 when a Belfast man was bitten while angling for a blue shark off County Cork.
