A FISHERMAN survived a terrifying shark attack by with some fast first aid skills.
Josiah Kaimani Ventura, 24, was spearfishing with friends off the southern tip of Hawaii when they found a blacktip reef shark caught in fishing nets.
The group was trying to free the apex predator from the nets when it mauled Josiah’s thigh.
Yet the 24-year-old was able to save himself and his leg with some quick-thinking first aid – he used his shredded wetsuit to stop the bleeding.
The spearfisherman said the shark “swam right up” him and “at first, it didn’t freak out or anything”.
He said: “It didn’t move. So I pulled it closer and pulled about five feet of line towards me.”
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Josiah said his fisherman friend approached the shark from the front with a knife, scaring the creature.
He said: “When he went at the shark from its face, it spooked the shark.
“Right there, the shark pulled me in a half circle, and then it literally jumped out of the water.
“It landed on top of my hip, and as I tried to swim away from it, that’s when it bit me on my thigh.”
With a gruesome injury, Josiah had to think fast.
The attack had severed a tendon in his leg and destroyed 25 to 35 percent of three major muscles in his quads.
Josiah said that once the shark struck, all he could see “was blood and flesh and fat, and all the stuff inside your leg”.
He added: “I should have blacked out, but thankfully I didn’t.”
He was alone on the beach, with his friends Danny, 28, and Chris, 30, still in the water.
It was then that the spearfisherman’s survival instincts kicked in and he performed life-saving first aid on himself.
The 24-year-old said: “I had to take off my wetsuit, ripped my wetsuit apart, and used the legs to wrap over it to add compression.
“Then I applied my own tourniquet and waited for my partners to come back.”
The remote location meant a harrowing 45-minute journey before Josiah’s friends could get him to an ambulance, before he was flown to hospital in a chopper.
He then had to endure three hours of surgery, involving 90 stitches and 70 staples.
Josiah said the attack on December 9 deepened his respect for wildlife, but warned others to be cautious when dealing with sharks.
The bite needed hours of surgery, extensive stitches and staples, and months of recovery – there’s still a long road ahead.
To recover fully, he now has to keep his leg straight and elevated for two and a half months, before up to a year of physical therapy.
Yet Josiah vowed to return to the ocean “as soon as the scar is closed”.
Born and raised in Hawaii, the 24-year-old said fishing and diving are an important part of his identity.
He said: “The ocean is our backyard, it’s our grocery store, so it takes care of us.
“But don’t be a hero, especially when dealing with apex predators and wild animals.
“You’ve got to be mindful and smart about what you’re doing and the situations you’re putting yourself in.”
He said he’s not afraid to get back into the sea, adding: “I’m excited to get in the water. I’m feeding for it. I need to be in the water.”