A 62-year-old man who was holding a fish he caught on a boat in a San Diego bay was attacked by a sea lion Sunday.

According to San Diego lifeguards, the man was on a boat in the Mission Beach Channel when the sea lion, apparently attempting to get the fish, pounced over the railing of a boat and latched onto his hand.

The animal grabbed a fish the man was holding, bit on his arm and pulled him to the bottom of the 20 feet of water in Mission Bay. Capt. Joe Amador, a spokesman with the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department said that the man was rescued by lifeguards. He was brought to shore, where his condition was evaluated by medics.

He mentioned that the man had cuts on his hands and feet and was taken to a hospital in an ambulance.

Media, citing witnesses including lifeguards reported that the incident occurred while the man was posing for a photo with the large fish. Witnesses said that the man was throwing fish guts overboard, which attracted the hungry sea lion.

In recent months, California sea lions have been washing ashore stranded and hungry in record numbers. Amador added that the man was taken by ambulance to a hospital for treatment of injuries to his hand and feet.