UH Research Leads to Identification of Shark Involved in Fatal Incident Honolulu – Using new DNA barcoding technology, a pair of shark researchers at the University of Hawai‘i‘s – Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) have determined a tiger shark caused fatal injuries to a 56-year-old Lahaina man, who was bitten at Maui’s Honolua Bay on December 8. Separately, by measuring bite marks on the surfer’s board, they have determined the shark was approximately 14.3-feet-long. Lead researcher Dr. Carl Meyer, a renowned shark expert said, “Prior to the development of these new techniques, uncertainly over the size and species of sharks responsible for bites to people was common. We are absolutely certain that it was a large tiger shark (in the 98th percentile for size), that bit this man.” The DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) collaborated with HIMB to definitively identify species and to calculate shark size from bite impressions.