A GoFundMe campaign has identified the man who was attacked by a shark at Salmon Creek Beach on Sunday as Eric Steinley.
The fundraising campaign was shared by the Oakland-based Roses Taproom, where the victim’s partner worked.
“As many of you may know, Idoia runs the wine program at Roses’ and is a beloved colleague and friend. Her partner, Eric, suffered a serious shark attack when he was surfing in Bodega Bay over the weekend,” part of the Instagram post on Tuesday read. “The road to recovery ahead of them is long, and they are looking for donations to help cover medical expenses.”
Mark Jensen from Sebastopol has created the GoFundMe. He is Steinley’s friend and helps request the people to help for the victim’s treatment as it “required therapies, pain relief, nutrition and more”.
Steinley is admitted at Santa Rosa Memorial hospital and currently recovers in the intensive care unit.
“He is lucky to be alive, and after a number of surgeries, he’s going to have a long road to recovery,” Jensen said.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the GoFundMe campaign has already reached $11, 000.
“Please do what you can to help Eric get back to a normal, active lifestyle, so he can continue spreading good vibes, building houses and being a solid community member,” Jensen said. “Perhaps in 6 months or next year, he’ll be back riding waves at his favorite break with his humble curiosity and big smile.”
Steinley was attacked by the shark while he was surfing off Salmon Creek Beach near Bodega Bay.
His left thigh was injured.
A group of surfers and other witnesses helped bring him into the parking space before the emergency responders arrived. The emergency team used a tourniquet to stop his injury from bleeding, then airlifted him to a hospital, SFGATE reported.
The incident is considered rare in California, which has recorded lower than 200 shark attacks since 1950. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife said fifteen of the shark attacks with white sharks as culprits were fatal.
