Surfers rush to aid shark‑bite victim at Big River Beach – Mendocino. Fish was huge, came back again and again.

People who were surfing nearby provided immediate care to a man bitten by a shark late Wednesday afternoon once he arrived on the beach — aid that may have saved his life, according to early accounts from the scene. He is reported to be in stable condition but we were unable to get any confirmation of the extent of his injuries.

The incident occurred around 5:15 p.m. at Big River Beach, the wide stretch of sand just south of Mendocino. The victim managed to reach shore on his own and was found at the extreme north end of the beach, where responding crews requested an ATV to reach him more quickly.

Witnesses described the shark as “gigantic,” visible from shore “as if it was a whale.” Several reported that the shark struck the victim, who witnesses said was a local man multiple times and then circled both him and the surfers who rushed in to help after the attack. Daniel O’Connor, a tourist visting Mendocino, was on the bluffs above the stairway behind Mendocino Presbyterian Church and saw the commotion. He said he could see the shark and it appeared large and it circled the rescuers. He said the rescuers did not see the shark circling and he and a couple yelled, knowing they could not be heard. It appeared the shark returned more than once to its victim.

Scanner traffic indicated the injuries were serious but did not involve arterial bleeding. A paramedic on scene advised that a helicopter may not be necessary, though REACH 18 was already airborne at the time of the call. Eventually, the victim was transported to the hospital in Fort Bragg, scanner traffic indicated. (This likely indicates the injuries were not as bad as first feared, but we don’t have confirmation of that)

California State Parks and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife also responded.

This report is based on early information and may be updated as more becomes available. We were able to confirm the story with on-scene witnesses and public agency public logs. We did eliminate some scanner material that way.

And the beach held its breath — surfers turned first responders, witnesses staring out at a dark shape moving just beyond the break, the whole scene reminding us how thin the line is between ordinary and extraordinary on this coast.

Tonight, a man is alive because strangers didn’t hesitate. Because training met courage in the cold March surf. Because even as a “gigantic” shark circled back through the shallows, visible from shore like a passing whale, people ran toward danger instead of away from it.

Big River has seen its share of drama, but this one will ripple through the community for a long time.

This is a developing story — and one that already carries the unmistakable echo of the Mendocino Coast at its most human and its most wild. We don’t report straight off the scanner and we contacted MCSO, checked out the CHP log and were contacted by a witness when we called around.

The great white shark population has surged in Northern California in recent years, tracking the rebound of their primary prey — seals and sea lions. As more sea lions succumb to disease, researchers say great whites may be shifting their hunting behavior. Published scientific studies show that a main reason sea otters have been unable to spread much past Monterey and Santa Cruz is that more and more they are killed by great white sharks. The sharks dont like the taste of otter and spit them out everytime, but the little critter perishes in the attack Sharks mistake the otter, a seagoing weasel for the more fat and tender seals and sea lions.

A shark attack was reported earlier this year off Point Arena, and in late 2025 there were three reported incidents in the Bay Area after nearly a decade with none.

n January 13, 2026, 26-year-old surfer Tommy Civik was injured in a shark attack near Gualala. The shark bit his surfboard, causing him to fall, and left him with puncture wounds on his thigh.

California recorded 10 shark‑related incidents in 2025, the highest ever documented in a single year, including the fatal December 21 attack in Monterey Bay in which swimmer Erica Fox, 55, went missing during a group swim and was later found dead. This followed a 2022 attack at the same location, Lovers Point, where the victim survived. SharkSider.com also notes the statewide uptick in encounters.

Shark encounters were far more common along the North Coast in the 20th century. One prominent local fisherman was decapitated by a great white north of Fort Bragg; a stone picnic table still stands above the site in his memory.

Great white shark population on the rise after years of decline | PBS News