The Maui News has reported that a twenty year-old fisherman from the island of Maui, Hawaii, is recovering from a wound inflicted by a tiger shark as he tried to release the animal back into the ocean.

The 8-10 foot shark latched on to the fisherman’s left calf, leaving two semi-circular incisions to which he applied a makeshift  bandage — described by ABC News as a tourniquet — using the sleeves of his shirt. The wounds would later require 38 stiches.

Michael Pollard hooked the tiger shark whilst fishing with a friend on Tuesday morning off the “pali”(slope or cliff) in Lahaina. Pollard afterwards admitted he should have cut the line after the shark took the bait, but in order to save his fishing rig he reeled it in instead. It was when he and his friend tried to throw the shark back in to the sea that it attacked Pollard.

In Hawaii, more attacks are made on humans by tiger sharks than by any other species of shark. The island of Maui is of course home to the big-wave spot Pe’ahi, more commonly referred to as Jaws.

Popular on 500px : Shark Feeder Guiding Tiger Shark by alex888 #Photography pic.twitter.com/pZhn2kn1BU

— Fotos increibles (@fotos_perfect) enero 27, 2015