Overview
- Event organisers activated a WSL “code red” and cleared the water on Monday after an in-water photographer was bitten during the men’s semi-final at the New Zealand Pro in Raglan.
- The photographer was identified in reports as Australian Ed Sloane and was taken by ambulance to hospital with puncture wounds while organisers said he was in stable condition and in good spirits.
- On-scene medical staff and WSL officials said they could not definitively identify the attacker but that the doctor present was inclined to suspect a sea lion rather than a shark.
- Competition resumed hours later under heightened wildlife surveillance using jet skis, drones and spotters, and the event concluded with Carissa Moore and Italo Ferreira winning their finals.
- WSL confirmed it will review the incident and its procedures for water-based photographers and athlete safety while some single-source reports of more severe damage to equipment or limbs remain uncorroborated.