A shark is believed to have attacked a 29-year-old man Sunday evening when he was surfing in shallow waters off Irino Beach, a popular surfing spot in Kuroshio, Kochi Prefecture.

The local Japan Coast Guard office quoted the man as saying a creature that seemed to be a shark bit his left leg and tried to swing it around when he was getting on his surfboard about 5 to 10 meters from the shore at around 7:05 p.m. The water in the area was only some 40 to 50 cm deep.

Another surfer nearby made an emergency call and the man, who is from Kuroshio, was taken to a hospital. He suffered injuries that will take about a month to heal.

He told the Coast Guard he knew that a 1- to 2-meter-long shark had been spotted at the beach for about a month.

The Kuroshio Municipal Government has been warning about sharks through loudspeakers and on signs at the beach.