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AVALON, CA - JANUARY 12: Amid COVID-19 pandemic social distancing and mask-wearing restrictions and requirements, an aerial view of beach-goers taking a scenic kayak cruise through the turquoise waters of Avalon Harbor on a summer day in Catalina Island on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016 in Avalon, CA. Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

After a young boy and his father went boating off the coast of Catalina Island, their spent father and son time turned into a nightmare when the boy was hospitalized due to a shark bite Wednesday morning.

The father and son attended summer camp at Camp Emerald Bay, which is a youth camp located on the northwest end of Catalina Island, owned and operated by the Boy Scouts of America. The ages of the two individuals were not immediately available.

Kayaking Gone Awry

According to NBC San Diego, the Los Angeles County Lifeguards posted on social media that the father and son were kayaking near Parson's Landing when their boat was bumped by what they believed was a shark. The size of the alleged creature and its type remained unknown to authorities.

The group of LA lifeguards mentioned in their statement that during the encounter, the young boy reached his hands into the water and was bitten by the animal which resulted in hospitalization. Parson's Landing is a remote beach, which is roughly one and a half miles by water and west of Camp Emerald Bay.

Lee Harrison, the Chief Executive Officer for the Boy Scouts of America's Western Los Angeles County Council, stated that a camp youth participant sustained a shark bite while canoeing close to Emerald Bay. Harrison clarified that the bite was not life-threatening. The Boy Scout council is the body that oversees the operations of the camp stated.

Shark Attack Victim Airlifted to Hospital

The shark bite victim was checked by the on-site doctor and the paramedic on the camp. Additional medical personnel arrived and decided to airlift the boy to a hospital for further treatment, ABC 7 reported.

Moreover, Harrison stated that the council provides chase boats whenever there are water activities that happen outside of Emerald Bay in order to assess possible weather and wildlife hazards. He also added that the boats follow the participants as they go back to the shore. He emphasized that they were not able to see any wildlife hazard the morning of the incident.

In accordance with directions by the Los Angeles County Fire Department, one mile from both directions of the water where the shark attack happened has been closed and will remain closed for at least 24 hours.

In addition, shark experts from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography were contacted by the lifeguards in order to identify the species and size of the shark that attacked the young boy.

According to The Sacramento Bee, Dr. Chris Lowe, Director of the California State University Long Beach Shark Lab, stated that while shark attacks are extremely rare in California, there have been several great white sharks that have been spotted in the Catalina waters.

He also added that the shark that attacked the boy could be a juvenile or a pregnant mother.

Harrison also stated that despite the fact that this is the first shark-related injury in the camp's 100-year history, there has also been another shark-related incident at the facility in a more recent time.

He stated that in 2019, two men also encountered a shark near Ship Rock, which was just east of Camp Emerald Bay. The men were kayaking when a shark started to chomp down on their boat.

WATCH: Boy bitten by shark off Catalina Island - Fox 11 Los Angeles