Angler bitten by blue shark off Waterford coast says 'the fish is in the right' after rescue

The incident

Sebastian Achim, a Romanian fishing enthusiast who lives in Dungarvan, was angling for blue sharks off Ardmore, Co Waterford, on 11 August 2026 when the catch turned on him. His group had departed at 8am and caught and released three sharks before the fourth, a blue shark roughly two metres in length, twisted upwards and snapped at his leg as he admired it beside the boat. The bite ripped part of his calf, leaving a wound almost 10cm long.

“I finally managed to land my first blue shark. When I was admiring the catch, the catch decided to lunge at my leg.”

Achim said he had been keeping what he considered a safe distance, at least half a metre from the shark's tail, when it jumped in a millisecond and grabbed his calf. His friends managed to get the shark off him and threw it back into the water without tagging it.

Bleeding and loss of consciousness

Achim grabbed a rope and tied it around his leg to stem the bleeding, but the blood loss was severe.

“There was blood spraying everywhere.”

He said there was more blood than most people would expect, and at moments he feared he would not survive. After about 10 minutes, he lost consciousness.

“I was thinking that the guys were just going to drive to the shore, and it was like three hours away. So, yeah, I was just thinking that I'm not going to make it.”

He regained consciousness when the Rescue 117 helicopter arrived above the boat. He felt no pain until he reached hospital and the adrenaline wore off.

Multi-agency rescue response

The coast guard's Marine Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Dublin was alerted at about 4.15pm. Rescue 117, the Waterford-based coast guard helicopter, was tasked to the scene, along with the Ballycotton RNLI all-weather lifeboat and the Youghal RNLI inshore lifeboat. Ballycotton RNLI's Trent-class lifeboat, The Austin Lidbury, launched at 4.30pm and arrived on scene at approximately 5.10pm, finding Rescue 117 and Youghal RNLI already at the casualty vessel, a five-metre pleasure craft with five people on board about four miles off Ram Head. Both lifeboats remained on standby while Achim was winched aboard the helicopter and transferred for emergency evacuation to Cork University Hospital.

Coxswain's assessment

Eolan Walsh, the coxswain on duty for Ballycotton RNLI, described the operation as a well-coordinated multi-agency response involving Ballycotton RNLI, Youghal RNLI and Rescue 117 working together to ensure the casualty received urgent medical assistance.

“Incidents such as this are a reminder that conditions at sea can change quickly and that anyone heading offshore should make safety a priority.”

The remaining four people on board did not require assistance, and the vessel subsequently returned safely to Dungarvan. Both lifeboats were then stood down.

Recovery and outlook

Achim, who said he was more concerned about his girlfriend and crewmates than his own well-being, will need reconstructive surgery to mend his leg. He insisted he was okay and hoped his recovery would be quick. He did not blame the shark, saying the fish was acting on survival instinct after being pulled from the water.

“I cannot say if it's a deliberate attack, or it's not a deliberate attack. Anyway, the fish is in the right.”