A man attempting to bring a hooked stingray on board a boat in a landing net was stabbed in the leg off Hahei yesterday, in the second stingray attack in a week.

The man in his 50s was fishing with a group from a boat, when he was pierced in his lower leg.

A man was taken to hospital after being stabbed in the leg by a stingray.

'He had it in a net and as he's bringing it in the tail has flicked round and the end of the tail barb has just penetrated his lower leg,” says Westpac Rescue Helicopter intensive care paramedic Russell Clark.

'It was quite a small wound actually. We ended up transporting him through to Waikato (Hospital). He was okay.”

The rescue helicopter arrived from Whitianga at 11.52am on Wednesday.

'By the time we got there he was up at a reserve we regularly land at. He was up there in the back of an ambulance being treated.”

The man contacted emergency services as a precaution, being aware stingray barbs contain toxins.

The Palmerston North man was taken to hospital where he was treated and discharged.

On Tuesday a Maketu man was stabbed in the back of his right thigh while hauling in a net containing a stingray.

The 40-year-old was fishing near Plate Island and was transported to the Kaituna Cut jetty by boat, where the fire brigade was waiting to assist until St John paramedics arrived.

The barb was removed at Tauranga Hospital and he was discharged later that night.

A stingray was also implicated in the death of Auckland man Peato Samele Ilalio, 40, who drowned at Kauri Point on January 2, after jumping in the water to retrieve a fishing rod after a stingray is believed to have taken the line.

Seen any stingrays? Got photos? Email [email protected]