Photo/Illutration A sign warns beachgoers against petting dolphins at beaches in Fukui Prefecture. Dolphin sightings are not rare as some migrate to the Sea of Japan while others live there year-round. Photo taken on July 26, 2022 (Keibu Horikawa)

FUKUI--Something lurks beneath the waves of the Sea of Japan and it's not Godzilla. 

A dolphin bit a 13-year-old boy's right hand at Shiraki beach in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, on July 21.

The middle schooler, who suffered minor injuries, and several others attempted to pet the dolphin after spotting it in the water that was 1 to 1.5 meters deep, according to the Tsuruga Coast Guard Office. 

A family member visiting from Mizuho, Gifu Prefecture, made an emergency call, reporting, “My family member was bitten by a dolphin and injured” at around 12:30 p.m.

The boy's family sanitized the wounds on his finger at the beach and ultimately decided not to take him to the hospital.

This is the third consecutive year where at least one dolphin has attacked a beachgoer in Wakasa Bay. A dolphin was sighted at Suishohama beach in the Takenami district of Mihama, also in Fukui Prefecture, earlier this summer, but the July 21 incident marks the first blood of the season.

In 2023, a dolphin rammed a 60-something-year-old man swimming some 5 meters off Suishohama beach, about an eight-minute drive from Shiraki beach.

The man sustained broken ribs and was also bitten. At least seven other dolphin attacks were reported that year.

In 2022, multiple attacks occurred at Koshino beach farther north. Local officials put up warning signs and set up buoys that emit ultrasonic sound waves to ward off dolphins, as they rely on echolocation.

The Coast Guard warns against approaching dolphins and to get out of the water if they are spotted.

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