Authorities in Hawaii confirmed that a skilled surfer and occasional actor passed away following a shark attack off the island of Oahu. Tamayo Perry, 49, worked as a professional lifeguard for Honolulu Ocean Safety, City and County.
At a press conference, Shayne Enright of the Honolulu Emergency Services Department claimed that Perry was attacked on Sunday afternoon when he was surfing close to Goat Island.
Just before 1 p.m., Honolulu Ocean Safety and the city’s fire, police, and emergency medical services departments were dispatched to Mālaekahana Beach on Oahu’s North Shore in response to a report of a surfer who seemed to have been critically injured by shark bites, according to Enright.
Perry was taken ashore by lifeguards on a jet ski, and paramedics helped pronounce Perry dead, according to Enright.
Enright stated that Perry started his job with the Ocean Safety department in July 2016 and was employed as a lifeguard on the North Shore.
After the attack, Enright claimed, Ocean Safety officials put up shark warning signs nearby. Speaking at the press briefing, Honolulu Ocean Safety Acting Chief Kurt Lager described Perry as “a lifeguard loved by all.”
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“He’s well known on the North Shore. He’s a professional surfer known worldwide,” Lager stated. “Tamayo’s personality was infectious, and as much as people loved him, he loved everyone else more.”
In agreement, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi called Perry a “legendary waterman” who was well-liked. He described the passing as “a tragic loss.”
According to an article published in Surfer Magazine following his death, Perry first gained notoriety in Hawaii and elsewhere in the early 2000s when other athletes started to notice his unique abilities, especially when it came to free surfing the North Shore pipeline.
He went on to establish a career in Hollywood, appearing in the 2011 “Pirates of the Caribbean” film series and the 2002 movie “Blue Crush.” Perry additionally had an appearance in a 2011 episode of the television show “Hawaii Five-O.”
The International Shark Attack File, a database that tracks shark attacks reported worldwide, shows that the number of deadly shark attacks increased in 2023 compared to the previous year.
While most shark attacks occurred in Florida, Hawaii was the site of one of the two fatal instances documented in the U.S. last year.
