Another fatal shark attack kills California surfer

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The Great Govenor of California
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Surfer killed in shark attack</HEADLINE>
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<!--articleTools Top--><DATE>April 30, 2008 - 12:53PM</DATE>

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<!--articleExtras-wrap--><BOD>An American surfer has been killed in a shark attack off Mexico's southern Pacific coast, officials say.
The San Francisco man bled to death on Monday after a shark bit his right thigh, leaving a 38-centimetre wound, the Guerrero state Public Safety Department said in a statement on Tuesday.
The US embassy in Mexico could not confirm the man's name, but local authorities identified him as a 24-year-old who was surfing with a fellow American. The other man was not injured.
The attack occurred at the Troncones beach, about 45 minutes west by car from the beach resort of Ixtapa.
The statement said the victim suffered wounds "that reached from the hip to the knee, exposing the femur".
The victim was still alive when he was brought back to the beach. It took so long for the ambulance to reach the relatively isolated and undeveloped beach that a bystander took the victim to a local hospital in his car.
The man died from loss of blood a few minutes after reaching the hospital, the statement said.
Shark attacks are relatively rare in Mexico.
In 2006, the International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History reported only one attack in Mexico, which was not fatal.

Meanwhile, a shark expert says an autopsy has confirmed a great white killed a 66-year-old swimmer in the waters off San Diego last week.

An investigator from the Medical Examiner's Office said two shark's tooth fragments were recovered from David Martin's body.

Los Angeles-area shark expert Ralph Collier, who assisted with the autopsy, said the fragments indicated the shark was a great white up to to five metres long.

Martin was bitten while training for a triathlon on Friday morning. He quickly died from blood loss.

About 30 kilometres of coastline were closed after the attack, but authorities reopened the beaches on Monday without incident.
 

The Great Govenor of California
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<!--2t--><!--st--><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width="100%" border=1><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle bgColor=white>[FONT=arial,helvetica]Sharks Attacks in Florida, USA, detailing suspected Shark and other attack details. Includes accompanying photo gallery of each victims injuries. [/FONT] </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!--sb--><!--tblt--><TABLE cellSpacing=0 width="100%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD bgColor=linen><TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=2 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD vAlign=center align=middle bgColor=linen colSpan=2>[FONT=arial,helvetica]<CENTER>Click to enlarge (if available)</CENTER>[/FONT]</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD vAlign=center align=left bgColor=linen>[FONT=arial,helvetica]Dawn Schauman of Melbourne Beach, Florida
Dawn was attacked by a 10 foot bull shark, while she was 6 ½ months pregnant. The attack was on October 26, 1993, around 10:00 a.m.
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[/FONT]</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD vAlign=center align=left bgColor=linen>[FONT=arial,helvetica]Chad Hooker, Coral Cove Park, Jupiter Island, Florida
Chad was attacked by a 4-5 foot spinner shark while surfing. The attack was on March 9, 2001.
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[/FONT]</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD vAlign=center align=left bgColor=linen>[FONT=arial,helvetica]Gary Smith, Ft. Pierce Inlet, Florida
Gary was attacked by an unidentified shark while surfing at The attack was on September 15, 2000
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Shark Attacks - - Shark attack victims photo gallery, including attacks by region and great white shark attacks. There are also other shark attack related pages including Jaws and many other popular shark related subjects.

Shark Attacks - - - Shark attack victims photo gallery, including attacks by region and great white shark attacks. There are also other shark attack related pages including Jaws and many other popular shark related subjects.


Links CNN - 14-year-old girl killed offshore in the Florida Panhandle. www.cnn.com

CNN - Boy stable after 2nd Florida shark attack. www.cnn.com

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<SCRIPT language=javascript type=text/javascript>sfgate_get_fprefs();</SCRIPT>The purpose of this column is self-preservation, both yours and mine.
If you love the great outdoors, then I urge you to please stay alive. Not only is it generally a good idea, but it pretty much guarantees me a job. I need you to stick around and keep reading.
You may have heard that in the past week or so, there has been a siege of deadly accidents for people out hiking, biking, fishing, boating or otherwise connecting with wildlife.
At the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, a mountain bike festival, one of the best riders around, after traversing a course with jumps, speed traps and flash turns, crashed near the finish line and died. In Marin County, a woman hiking the cliff route above Rodeo Beach in the Marin Headlands slipped over the cliff and perished.
In the north valley on the Sacramento River, a drift boat with three anglers hit a bridge support at Anderson and flipped. One of those aboard, a Bay Area resident, drowned. In Southern California, a guy working with a 700-pound grizzly bear was bit in the neck and died, and on Friday near San Diego a 66-year-old triathlete in training was bitten and killed by a shark.
These accidents are tragedies and my heart goes out to the victims' families and all who knew them.
They are also giant red flags.
As spring takes hold with warm weather, finally coming after a mostly frigid March and April in Northern California, people are busting loose out there, eager to celebrate nature's coronation of spring in their own ways.
In the spirit of enjoying that coronation and staying alive in the process, know that there are a few absolute truths about safety in the great outdoors:
-- Pay attention: The most dangerous new trend I've seen is that a lot of people do not pay attention to what is occurring around them.
The other day, in an extreme case, I saw a road biker wearing an iPod run a stop sign at 20 mph and just miss getting clipped from both sides, by a Harley going one way and a truck going the other. Horns blared, the Harley guy shouted, yet the cyclist with the iPod didn't appear to hear a thing. This is not a condemnation of road biking. I've seen similar encounters with snowboarders, joggers and boat drivers towing wake boarders. They're lost in their brains and not paying attention.
This seems part of a sweeping event in America, especially on the roads. You see people driving along with DVD players and a movie going, a GPS moving map display, satellite radio and a cell phone, often trying to punch buttons as they drive, and they become disconnected to everything outside.
-- Be tuned to all senses: The best way to take in the full euphoria of the outdoors and yet still be safe is to create an appreciation and heightened awareness of your senses, sight, sound, smell, touch and taste. That allows you to get outside your mind, merge with your surroundings and be alert.
This is also a great trick when facing long climbs when hiking, biking or mountain climbing. By creating awareness, each minute adds a special joy when you are in aerobic rhythm. To do the opposite, iPod cranked up, head down, powering forward, you might as well be pedaling an exercise bike in a dark closet.
"Most people are on the world, not in it. (They) have no conscious sympathy or relationship to anything about them - undiffused, separate and rigidly alone like marbles of polished stone, touching but separate." John Muir wrote that about 100 years ago.
-- Don't count on rising to the occasion: When facing a dangerous moment and a flashpoint decision, your past training will kick in and take over on instinct. If you don't have training and experience, you face catastrophe. When facing a potential hazard, the advice of my mentors from years ago still ring clear in my mind. Never "give it a shot" or "hope your way" through a hazard. Get trained. The lessons will last for life, and maybe save it.
-- Always leave yourself an out: This is a simple must-do concept, yet it never crosses the minds of many. It may sound dangerous, for instance, that I fly complex, high-powered airplanes, ride motorcycles, climb the highest mountains, trek off trail in wilderness, hunt solo and have rafted Class V rivers and played hide-and-seek with the grizzly bears in Alaska's Katmai several times. Truth is, I'm safer doing any of those things than driving my pickup truck on the Bay Bridge. That's because in the outdoors, I always leave myself a way out of every predicament. On the Bay Bridge, with a sports car cutting in front of me and a delivery truck tailgating, there's no out.
-- Make sure your body is ready: If you hike, bike or exercise two times a week and generally cut out the bad habits, you will live 14 more years. After a softball game once, I remember one of the players, a pal sportswriter from San Mateo, one of the nicest guys I've ever met, who said he was going to exercise, lose a lot of weight and get in shape. Later, he ran a couple of hard miles, arrived home, and the next thing you know, he died of a heart attack. Everyone who knew him was crushed.
Devastating incidents like this can be avoided. Enjoy your great outdoors. And stay alive. For both you and me.
"The Great Outdoors With Tom Stienstra" airs Sundays at 10 a.m. on KBCW/KMAX-Sacramento. Stienstra's "Outdoors Report" can be heard Saturdays on KCBS (740 AM) at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 12:35 p.m.

Fits in with your article.
 

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These types of accidents (shark attacks) are 100% completely avoidable.
 

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But humans do pose a danger to sharks, killing anywhere between 30-100 million sharks every year.
 

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Greenhead,

If you copy and paste your article into the "quick reply" box, it will remove all the formatting, so you just get the text of your article.
 

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But humans do pose a danger to sharks, killing anywhere between 30-100 million sharks every year.

Hell, it seems as though humans pose a threat to every living creatue on this earth, including themselves. I would never want anyone to die just from having a swim in the ocean, but hey, you have to realize where you're at and what lives in the water. You are after all "in their home" so to speak.
 

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The latest shark attack was in Mexico on a surfer from San Fran! Was probably a Bull Shark!~
 

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I've seen a few sharks of the smaller variety and barricuda while scuba diving..I don't think people realize how fast these fish are in the water..I've had close calls with barricuda. And they're on top of you and gone in a flash..There's no avoiding these animals if they really want to take a chunk out of you. And a swimmer on top of the water wouldn't even have a chance. It's best just to stay out of the water completely when there are the tiger or great white's in the area.
 

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<!-- google_ad_section_start -->Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Huntington Beach Shark Attack – Legit or worst April Fools Day prank ever?


So this story has been slowly creeping into the news over the last few days…

Apparently this guy, Tom Larkin, was surfing dog beach in Huntington, which is up between Bolsa Chica and the Huntington Beach Cliffs, and something munched his surfboard. (UPDATE: Make sure to read my interview with Tom Larkin)

On one side the surfer and a couple of scientists from the Shark Research Committee say that it was a great white shark.



On the other side you have the HB lifeguards and others with a lot of HB experience calling bullshit…mostly because they have not really observed really any great-white/human interaction along this stretch of coast.

Personally I am on the skeptical side…I surfed waaaaay up north for a number of years (in my misspent youth) and there is a definite feel to the type of ocean and conditions that great white sharks generally hunt in. Not to mention you always see a lot of collateral damage…headless sea-lions and other torn up sea-life, and a ton of stories from all the local fishermen.

In HB you just don’t have those things…I have never heard of any shark attack by a shark bigger than a small blue or sand shark in the nearly 18 years that I have lived here.

That being said wild animals are wild…they do crazy things sometimes…maybe this one just hates guys from the LA South Bay.

Anyway if you want more of the legit details check out Laylan Connelly’s article that ran over on the OCRegister.com

Here is the link…make sure to vote in the poll on her page. (She buys me more beer the more votes she gets…hmmmm beer)

http://beach.freedomblogging.com/2008/03/31/shark-story-continues/#more-1666


One last thing…

I sort of feel bad for the surfer because of all the people calling BS on his story…especially if he really believes that he was about to be eaten…that has got to scare the poop right out of you. But I have to admit the guy has got really bad timing…it was almost April 1st and that area of Bolsa Chica has a reputation for surfers staging elaborate practical jokes (I am sure many of you remember the Red Nigerian Banded Salt Water Marsh Snakes).


Posted by Adam Wright at <A class=timestamp-link title="permanent link" href="http://socalforecast.blogspot.com/2008/04/huntington-beach-shark-attack-legit-or.html" rel=bookmark><ABBR class=published title=2008-04-01T08:56:00-07:00>8:56 AM</ABBR>
Labels: Hoax or No-Hoax, Shark Attack



6 comments:

<DL id=comments-block><DT class="comment-author blogger-comment-icon" id=c8453934605056636213>Julie said... <DD class=comment-body>Whether or not it actually happened, this was reported on March 7th so well before April Fools. It's been on the Shark Research Committee website for awhile as a legitimate attack. http://www.sharkresearchcommittee.com/pacific_coast_shark_news.htm
<DD class=comment-footer>April 1, 2008 12:58 PM <DT class="comment-author blogger-comment-icon" id=c7536855897065247426>Adam Wright said... <DD class=comment-body>Good point...but you have to admit the best pranks aren't the ones you pull on April Fools when everyone is expecting it.

I don't think that we are ever going to know if it is real or not until we get more definitive proof, (which hopefully won't be someone getting really munched).
<DD class=comment-footer>April 1, 2008 4:01 PM <DT class="comment-author blogger-comment-icon" id=c2922563740454735572>Yong Jung Shin said... <DD class=comment-body>I just think I saw a shark today...this afternoon... I m sure it was a shark since it had a pointy fin. And it didn't jump around. Scared as hell... It was swimming around 56th street for like 30 min. It could probably be a april fools joke, but it looks pretty legit to me.
<DD class=comment-footer>April 1, 2008 8:52 PM <DT class="comment-author blogger-comment-icon" id=c3269459770498314040>mikej said... <DD class=comment-body>I doubt it was a hoax for the reason that the story was originally reported March 7th and if you look at the pics he's got a good set of teeth marks on an extremely expensive C-Fbre board. You would have to be really stupid or incredibly rich to pull it off.
<DD class=comment-footer>April 1, 2008 10:11 PM <DT class="comment-author anon-comment-icon" id=c591018188829060046>Anonymous said... <DD class=comment-body>I can tell you that I'm pretty sure we have GW's in HB. I've lived here and surfed for most of my life. I'll tell you one thing I have seen headless sea lion carcasses on the beach. You have to be there right when it comes up as they clean it up right away. I'm thinkin' so people don't get scared and the media doesn't ruin the tourist attraction that HB is.
<DD class=comment-footer>April 5, 2008 2:47 AM <DT class="comment-author anon-comment-icon" id=c3458374828843813919>Anonymous said... <DD class=comment-body>No Great Whites huh? On June 7th. 2003 An idiot named Abraham Ulloa caught and killed one on the Hermosa Beach pier. By the way it's illegal they are protected. He was so proud of himself breaking the law he stradled the shark and said "cheese" on the front page of the Daily Breeze. Which is the So. Bays local fish wrap. I'd be on the look out for little brown things attacking you that close to Seal Beach. Last I checked that's where the sewer meets the sea! Bottom line sharks live in the ocean and sometimes snack on dumb people. Like the lady in Avilla Beach.
</DD></DL>
 

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dam. was hoping that gay ping pong player was the one who took the dip in the ocean.
 

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st who do those deadly looking fins slicing the waters off Huntington Beach belong to?

Rumors of great white shark sightings along the Southern California coast in recent weeks are the buzz of the beach, leaving a few surfers spooked.





Tom Larkin is convinced that a shark jolted his surfboard and left what looks like a bite mark on the back end while he waited for a wave in the waters near Bolsa Chica State Beach earlier this month.

After paddling in as his damaged surfboard took on water, the 26-year-old stock analyst from Manhattan Beach said he "proceeded to freak out in the parking lot. I don't know what else it could have been."

But Huntington Beach lifeguards dismiss the reports as hogwash -- even though great whites have been spotted in the area in years past.

"As far as we know, there's not any evidence there's great whites in our vicinity," said marine safety officer Steve Reuter of the Huntington Beach city lifeguards.

And Los Angeles County lifeguard patrols haven't recorded any unusual sightings, said Capt. Terry Harvey.

"It's springtime; people are saying 'shark' and they're freaking out," Reuter said.

He said surfers and swimmers are more likely to encounter less-dangerous thresher, blue or nurse sharks. In other words: "I would call it shenanigans."

Reuter's only recent shark-related incident was an injured 3-foot mako shark that washed ashore, thrashing around in pain. After bystanders tried to pet the dying animal -- which normally stays in deep water -- lifeguards had to destroy it, he said.

A nonprofit research website (www.sharkresearchcommittee.com/index.html) lists four eyewitness reports of shark sightings this month -- in Huntington Beach, Santa Monica and San Onofre State Beach, most of which is in San Diego County.

But "dolphins are easily mistaken by the untrained eye" for sharks, and migrating whales are on the move, said Joe Milligan, park superintendent at Huntington and Bolsa Chica state beaches.

Although no employees or visitors have reported spotting sharks, "the fact of the matter is, the ocean is full of all kinds of creatures and it's healthy," Milligan said. "That's where they're supposed to be."

And the surfing competition underway this week at the Huntington Beach Pier is in full swing, undeterred by gossip of predator-infested waters.

Alison Sheltrown, a marketing manager for www.surfline.com, has another theory: The rumors, she said, are just a ploy "to keep everyone out of the water because it's spring break."

Local surfers, she said, want to keep the waves for themselves.
 

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Surfer killed in shark attack

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<!-- // .article-tools --><!-- End Story Toolbar-->By Gerardo Torres in Acapulco, Mexico | May 25, 2008

<!-- // .module-subheader -->A SHARK killed a 21-year-old surfer off a Mexican Pacific coast beach, police said today, the second fatal shark attack in the area in less than a month.
Mexican Osvaldo Mata, a student at a nearby university, was surfing with friends near the resort town of Zihuatanejo yesterday when a shark grabbed him, bit off one of his hands and took two bites out of his thigh, a police spokeswoman said.
His friends paddled him back to shore, a few metres away, but he lost consciousness and died before medics arrived.
"Two witnesses, his friends who were swimming with him, told us they saw a 2m shark attack him and pull him underwater," a police spokeswoman for the state of Guerrero said.
The attack, at a beach called Pantla around 20 km from Zihuatanejo, happened less than a month after American tourist Adrian Ruiz, 24, died from a shark bite while surfing at Troncones beach, a few miles away.
Zihuatanejo's civil protection director, Jaime Vazquez, said surfers at Pantla beach saw fins in the sea shortly before the attack, which he said broke Mata's femur and left a 30cm wound in his thigh, causing him to bleed to death.
Pantla and Troncones beaches are around 240km from Acapulco, Mexico's best-known Pacific resort and a magnet for some 6 million Mexican and foreign tourists each year.
The attacks have alarmed residents of coastal resorts in Mexico, where fatal shark attacks are rare.
The last shark death in Mexico was in the Caribbean in 1997, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History's International Shark Attack File.
No one had been killed by a shark on Mexico's Pacific coast in over 30 years, according to the museum's records.
 

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Sharks seen in Lajolla and NEwPort Beach last week as well.

Why always the very next sentence, oh but lighting 10X more likely, which is total bs.

This is 101% global related. tons of sharks being caught off the rocks in Dana Point right now too.
 

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Wow, sickening news...I am an advid shoreline diver here in Hawaii...and as you all know we got that Tiger Shark, who will eat anything...

But at least we got a fighting chance (divers that is) as our waters are clear, so we can see them...compared to the murky shit them surfers in Cali or other parts on the mainland like to play in.

Getting bitten by a shark is the biggest fear for a lot of people who dive and surf...but if you ask the old-timers, who dive religiously here in Hawaii...they will say that sharks don't scare them...it's the green moray eels that do...as those bastards are not scared of anything and will rush you if they feel like it...Sharks they say are more timid and scared.
 

The Great Govenor of California
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Pacific Coast Shark News 2008

The following reports for 2008 have been provided as a public service. They are intended to inform our visitors of current shark activities along the Pacific Coast of North America. To review Pacific Coast Shark News for 2003 click here, for 2004 click here, for 2005 news click here, and for 2006 news click here, and for 2007 news click here.

Redondo Beach — On May 11, 2008 Mark Van Tine was surfing near Topaz Street in Redondo Beach. It was 8:00 AM and he had been on the water for 1.5 hours. The sky was clear and the sea conditions were “pretty calm with maybe a little bump” according to Van Tine. Water and air temperatures were estimated in the mid-60s Fahrenheit. Water depth was about 20 feet over a sandy ocean floor. Dolphins had been observed occasionally throughout the morning. Van Tine reported; “The shark came in towards the Topaz jetty then turned South towards Palos Verdes. I believe it was a small blue shark, maybe five to six feet in length. It came in fast then sort of stopped to check out the surfers then kept going. The encounter didn't last more than a minute or two. I got out shortly thereafter.” Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.

Huntington Beach — On May 5, 2008 Ryan Roe was surfing near Golden West Street, Huntington Beach. It was 11 AM and he had been on the water 20 minutes. Air and water temperatures were estimated at 68 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively. The sky was clear and there was an onshore breeze contributing to the slightly choppy conditions with 1 – 2 foot surf. Roe recalled; “I started out in the lineup directly in front of Golden West Street. Then after seeing a few peaks pop up about 50 yards south, I paddled towards them. After taking a few short rides (very crumbly lines) I kept paddling just to get an arm workout and changed my direction north, deciding to cut my session short. When I started paddling north, I noticed the fin break the surface following the same direction that I was traveling, but about 15-20 yards outside of the surf line. The shark stayed high in the waterline for about 20 seconds, and was very smooth in its movement north. Then the shark submerged, and I was on my way to the sand. I first saw the dorsal fin break the surface then I saw the tip of the tail. There was about 4 – 5 feet between the dorsal fin and the tail tip. The coloration was dark gray and its movements were very smooth through the water. The shark was approximately 15 – 20 yards from my spot in the lineup.” Caution should be exercised when utilizing this location for your ocean water activities. Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.

Solana Beach — On May 4, 2008 Eric reported the following to Surfline; “The Whitey spotted at Table Tops in Solana Beach 40 feet from break outside surfaced on its side, and my friend who surfs their everyday with his brother saw its white under belly. Said it was huge!!! They caught a wave in and reported it to the lifeguards. You can confirm it with them. Tables and Seaside has a new local resident. Be careful.” Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.

Bolsa Chica State Beach — On May 2, 2008 Patrick Lynch and Anthony DeHerrera were surfing 40 yards from shore near the main tower at Bolsa Chica State Beach. It was 7:30 AM and they had been in the water 45 minutes. The sky was clear and the sea glassy with 4 – 5 foot waves. The water is 12 – 15 feet deep at this location with a sandy ocean bottom. Air and water temperatures were estimated at 68 and 62 degrees Fahrenheit respectively. Lynch recalled; “While waiting for set waves we noticed a large slowly moving boil and then a grey dorsal fin, 8 – 10 inches in height, surface approximately 15 yards away from us. After confirming what we both saw, we then paddled cautiously into the next waves and took them to shore. After reporting this incident to a beach patrol officer he confirmed that he had not seen any dolphins in the area for awhile. We decided to move to a new location about 600 yards to the North. We entered the water and paddled out to about 40 yards from beach. Another surfer was in water with us about 30 yards to the South. While waiting for set waves we saw a large boil 10 – 15 yards North of our location. We decided to exit the water again. Once on the beach the unidentified surfer came up to us and said he saw a shark’s fin as well. Anthony and I have both been surfing and fishing for over 30 years and have a lot of experience in and on the water. This was definitely not a dolphin or a seal.” Caution should be exercised when utilizing this location for your ocean water activities. Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.

Tamarack Beach — On May 1, 2008 Ken Winfield was on his way to surf Tamarack Beach in Carlsbad. It was 6:15 AM and the sky was overcast. Air and water temperatures were both estimated at 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Winfield recounted; “I observed a Great White Shark, 8 – 10 feet in length, in a confrontation with about 8 dolphins while driving my car over the jetties at Tamarack Beach. Water was flying everywhere, I saw at least two baby dolphins depart after the confrontation, which last about 45 seconds. It took place just inside the jetties at Tamarack Beach. There were a lot of dolphins in the area at the time, 50 – 60+. I was told several hours later that about one hour after this incident a shark attacked a Sea Lion pup at Cassidy Street in Oceanside, which is less than one half mile North of the jetties.” Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.

Solana Beach — On April 25, 2008 Dr. David Martin, a retired veterinarian, was swimming with eight companions of the Triathlon Club of San Diego at 7 AM. They were 100 – 150 yards from shore North of Fletcher Cove, Solana Beach, California. After entering the water they headed North. Rob Hill, a member of the club, was running along the shore and recalled, “His friends saw him come up out of the water, scream, ‘Shark,’ flail his arms and go back under.” Two members of the group swam to his aid and assisted him to the beach. A life guard truck transported the injured swimmer to the Lifeguard station on the bluff that overlooks Fletcher Cove. Paramedics attempts to resuscitate Martin were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead at 7:49 AM. Authorities immediately closed a 17 mile stretch of beach. The following information was obtained during the forensic examination of the deceased; “one, small, tooth fragment with 2 serrae, and a second, small, tooth fragment with 3 serrae, were removed from a thigh injury. They are both indicative of lower jaw teeth from a adult White Shark. 'Interspace measurements' of tooth insertion points of the wounds are comparable with those of a 15 – 16 foot White Shark. The shark’s description, tooth fragments, wound dimensions, including 'interspace measurements,' confirm a White Shark, 15 – 16 feet in length, was the causal species of this attack." Our thoughts and prayers go out to Dr. Martin’s family and friends.

Hermosa Beach — On April 17, 2008 Jack Coble and a friend were surfing at the 17th Street Break at Hermosa Beach. It was 6:15 PM and they had been on the water about one hour. The sky was clear with an onshore breeze contributing to the choppy sea conditions with wind swell waves about 4 – 5 feet. There was an unusually large amount of kelp in the area. A fisherman was observed on the beach about 150 feet from their location. Air and water temperatures were estimated at 65 and 58 degrees Fahrenheit respectively. Coble recounted; “My buddy and I were out for about an hour. We were surfing the outside set at 17th Street with lots of kelp present and only two other surfers out. There were long lulls between sets and the water was choppy and seemed to be between tides but high. I was on a longboard and my friend on a 6 foot 'fish' shaped board so he was really exposed and would kick both feet and arms to catch waves. I was facing the beach while waiting between sets. I looked to the south and saw about 15 – 20 feet from me a very thin straight dorsal fin that seemed to be blue-grey in color and about 18 inches above the water. It was tracking straight and slow directly towards me. Unlike a dolphin, there was no roundness to the fin or arching to the back. I did not look long enough to see if the tail was also above water, but alerted my friend and we very quickly and not at all casually swam for the shore like little girls. The third surfer down the beach had seen us quickly swim ashore and he later told us that the 'shark' kept its depth, dorsal fin above water and slowly advanced towards him. He took the next wave in and we all watched for the fin or any other sign but neither of us saw it again. We alerted the lifeguard on duty who put a call in after questioning us.” Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.

carlsbad_seal_4-16-08.jpg
Carlsbad Beach — On April 16, 2008 Ken Winfield took this picture with his cell phone. It is an adult Sea Lion that he came across at theBeach in front of Cherry Street in Carlsbad. He also reported that his daughter told him that she saw a dead Sea Lion on the beach in Encinitas, around J Street on the 24th of April 2008. Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.



Bolsa Chica State Beach — On April 10, 2008 Mark Wilson was surfing 80 – 100 yards off Bolsa Chica State Beach at the tower near the entrance. It was 7:45 AM and he had been on the water about one hour with two unidentified surfers. It was sunny with small surf, two to three feet max, and clean conditions. Wilson recalled; “While waiting for a set I observed a triangular dorsal fin moving South about 20 yards further out from my position. The fin was about 12 inches high and grey/brown in color. It was not threatening in any way. I was moving slowly and the shark did not make a move toward me. I went ashore following the encounter.” Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.

San Onofre, Trail Five — On April 7, 2008 Julius Morck was surfing 300 feet from shore at San Onofre, Trail Five. It was 6:30 PM and he had been on the water about 2.5 hours. He estimated air and water temperatures at 50 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit. There was a slight chop on the sea surface under fair skies. Morck recounted; “I saw a dark triangular dorsal fin, 12 – 18 inches in height, cruising about 100 feet out from the break. It appeared to be heading South. Prior to the encounter I had been fairly calm in the water with very little movement.” Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.

Huntington Beach — On March 26, 2008 Jeff Duncan was surfing on the South side of Huntington Beach Pier. It was 7:15 AM with a bright, sunny sky and a ‘glassy sea surface.’ He had been in the water about 30 minutes. Duncan recounted; “I was sitting watching the horizon, for the next set wave, when I noticed something surface just to my right of view and approx. 20-30 feet away. It took only a moment to realize that it was not a dolphin, whale or other animal…..it was a shark. It slowly surfaced only enough to see its side and dorsal fin. I only saw a large triangular dorsal fin and about 4-5 feet of the shark's dorsal/side, which was a very light gray. The large dorsal fin had a somewhat irregular edge which almost looked damaged in someway, though not seriously It seemed to be swimming north toward the pier and not toward me, but I was the only surfer near the animal at the moment. I noticed a very large boil in the water after the shark submerged. The boil made me think the animal must have been very large, maybe 15 feet or so. I did not see any signs of the shark after this, but after confirming with other surfers that it definitely looked like a shark and that there were other observations of a large shark seen from the parking lot (which I was unaware), I promptly made my way to the beach.” Caution should be exercised when utilizing this location for your ocean water activities. Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.

Huntington Beach — On March 22, 2008 Matt Moore was walking along the North end of Bolsa Chica at Huntington Beach. It was 7:15 AM with a sunny sky. Moore recalled; “As the waves were small, I decided to go for a beach hike from the north end of Bolsa Chica up to the Sunset Beach jetty. There was a slight offshore breeze, sunny conditions, and relatively clear water. The tide was medium high and several long boarders were struggling to catch a few high tide near shore ‘Decepto’ waves. As I walked across the sand out to the water, I noticed a commotion in the water, several boils pop up and some water being displaced. I saw a small whale surface, spout, thrash, and dive about 50 to 75 yards offshore. It was about 25 feet in length. As I watched it for a few minutes, I noticed it repeating this while moving northward at a slow pace, resurfacing at about 25 yard intervals. I could easily discern the whale tale as it broke the surface, even the somewhat lighter colored, barnacle encrusted nose. The third time it surfaced I noticed a shark swimming right along with it. It had the tell-tale triangular shark dorsal fin, was about 10 feet in length and had a top notched rear tale. It appeared to be pursuing the whale northward. I couldn't tell if the whale was distressed or not, but the shark reappeared several times as the whale moved up the beach. Two other surfers standing nearby briefly discussed the sighting with me, and both agreed that it was a shark. One of the guys even said it looked like there were two sharks out there. I walked up the beach for 1/2 mile or so, watching the whale surface a half dozen more times. At one point the whale came within 10 yards of a lone surfer, but the shark was not present. I have lived and surfed for years all throughout the Pacific Northwest including Oregon, Humboldt, Sonoma, Marin, and Santa Cruz. I have personally had several encounters with great whites including having one swim under me, witnessed a feeding, saw one chase seals up onto a beach. I am not one to cry wolf and am positive as to what I witnessed today.” Caution should be exercised when utilizing this location for your ocean water activities. Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.

Santa Monica Beach — On March 14, 2008 Dan Burks was surfing at Santa Monica just South of Bay Street at about 7:45 AM. He reported; “I don’t know what kind of shark it was, but I estimate its length at 8 or 9 feet. The back edge of the dorsal fin looked pretty scarred up. It was about 70 yards out from my location. It did not approach me and once submerged I did not see it again. Another surfer also saw the shark but I do not have his name.” Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.

San Onofre, Trail One — On March 8, 2008 Chris Pavlis and his brother-in-law Troy were surfing at Trail One, San Onofre. It was between 11:30 AM and 12 PM and they had been in the water 2 ½ hours. The sky was clear with a light breeze and a temperature in the upper 60s Fahrenheit. The sea surface was mostly calm with the surf 2 – 3 feet and a water temperature in the upper 50s Fahrenheit. The ocean floor at Trail One was a mixture of sand and rocks near the main rock reef. Pavlis recalled; “I had been out surfing for about two hours before my brother-in-law paddled out and outside of the tide dropping nothing out of the ordinary had gone on. There were about 10 guys in the water spread out over about 300 yards. As the tide started to drop I paddled closer to the rocky reef if you will to get a little better shaped wave at that time Troy came out and caught some waves and after about 30 minutes he took one almost to shore turned around and was coming back out, I was sitting outside and turned around to tell him cool wave and when I looked at him I noticed a boil about ten feet from him and when I focused on the water I saw the shark swimming slowly and methodically straight towards Troy. It was about 7 feet in length and light grey in color. I freaked a bit and started yelling and pointing for him to turn and look but he just dug in and paddled harder. The shark literally passed the tail of his board by inches making a perfect T from my vantage point. It continued swimming North towards the reef and disappeared. And though a seven foot shark may seem quite minor to most, in all my 34 years of surfing I have had no sightings or encounters with sharks till now and to be honest this brief encounter has changed me. Every time I go in the water alone now I have a nasty little fear that I can't shake.” Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.

thomas_larkin_3-7-08.jpg
Huntington Beach
— On March 7, 2008 Thomas Larkin was surfing with two friends. He recounted the following; “I was surfing a 6’6” Avisco (carbon fiber) Surf Prescriptions Bat Tail Quad. I paddled out at Dog Beach near Huntington Cliffs around 7:10 in the morning at a pretty full high tide. Dog Beach is located in a stretch of Huntington City Beach between Seapoint Street and Golden West Street. I was meeting two friends there, Matt Donoghue and Craig Angel. The current was moving around a lot of water, and both of them were on longboards, so about 20 minutes into the surf I was tired of paddling over to them on my shortboard, and was surfing pretty much alone. There were two bodyboarders about 100 yards north of me, and I was almost due west of the ramp walkway. At about 8:00 AM, I caught my best wave of the session, and even though Matt and Craig had already gotten out, I wanted one more. I paddled back out and was sitting in the lineup alone, with the closest surfers about 200 yards south, and the bodyboarders were inside and north. I was waiting for a set for about 5 minutes when I felt a jolt down on the tail of my board, immediately followed by violent bubble cascade, which sunk the board down about another 8 inches (see photograph). I didn’t really get what was going on as quickly as I should have, but as soon as it begun it had ended and I was apparently alone again. A wave popped up, I paddled into it but pearled because of the water in the nose of my board, I quickly got back on and paddled into the whitewater of the next wave and boogie boarded it to the beach where I emptied the board through the apparent bite mark." The diameter of the bite suggests an adult White Shark in excess of 15 feet in length. Caution should be exercised when utilizing this location for your ocean water activities. Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.

kelly_lewis_encounter_3.jpg
San Onofre, Trail One
— On March 5, 2008 Kelly Lewis reported the following: “The shark was spotted at the base of Trail One, San Onofre State Park at approximately 1:45 PM. It appeared to be about 6 feet long. It was thrashing violently until a set of waves came in to float it (see photographs). It then spent another 2 to 3 minutes in very shallow water sometimes on it's back, eventually swimming into deeper water and disappearing. Dozens of seagulls were circling as if an opportunity existed. I had just been knee deep in the water a hundred yards south throwing a stick for my dog that was swimming well out into the surf. No surfers were in the water. My clothing doesn't seem to be of any importance. The shark came ashore
kelly_lewis_encounter_2.jpg
independent of any human interaction. The beach has a very flat sand bar 300 feet long that stays flat out another 200 feet. However at the area this shark was ashore there are rocky depressions that set up drainage 'creeks' that run parallel to the shore to drain away higher sets that flood over the sand bar at or around low tide. My guess is the shark just got washed in and ended up stranded until another 'flooding set' allowed him to find an escape route. It was very lethargic after the set re-floated it, and as you saw in the one picture it was on its back. It also swam on its side for a period of time. I thought it may have been seriously injured. There was pinkish, almost a diluted blood look along its belly.”
The pictured animal is a juvenile Salmon Shark, which are infrequent visitors to this area. Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.

Monterey Bay — On February 5, 2008 a juvenile male Great White Shark was released in Monterey Bay, 162 days after it was placed in the Monterey Bay Aquarium Outer Bay exhibit. The young shark carried two electronic tags: one that will relay near real-time data about his travels for about eight months, and a second that will collect detailed information on his movements for the next five months.
Data from the second tag, documenting where the shark goes, how deep it dives and the water temperatures it favors, will be relayed to Monterey Bay Aquarium scientists via satellite when the tag pops free in early July. The shark had grown from an initial size of 4-feet, 9-inches and 67 ½ pounds when it arrived on August 28, 2007 to its current size of 5-feet, 10-inches and 140 pounds.
This is the third time in four years that the Aquarium has exhibited a Great White Shark and then returned it to the wild. The first shark, a female was held for 198 days; our second, a male, for 137 days. Both were successfully returned to the wild and the tracking tags they carried documented their journeys back in the ocean.
Monterey Bay scientists have tagged 10 other young sharks in the wild in Southern California waters as part of their ongoing Great White Shark field project, and support research to track the migrations of adult Great White Sharks tagged off the Farallon Islands and Point Año Nuevo on California's central coast.
The Aquarium will begin its seventh field season of white shark research this summer, and will again attempt to bring a young shark back to Monterey for exhibit.
 

The Great Govenor of California
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off the coast of Southern California?
Collier says the great white is indigenous to the Pacific Coast and North America.
"We have had more confirmed sightings along the entire Pacific Coast then they've had any other place in the world," he said.
And, he says there have been 145 shark attacks from 1900 to the present, 87 percent of those attributed to the white shark.
They come close to shore to give birth, especially around spring during grunion season. Adult female white sharks give birth in March and April, near shore. Then the juveniles – about 4-feet long when born - stick around for a year or two.
As far as the claim that great white sharks don't come around here, he cites a number of cases: A white shark was caught off the Huntington Beach pier two years ago. There was a fatal attack of a diver in 1959 in La Jolla. And a kayaker was killed in Malibu in 1989, with the other kayaker's body never found.
He forgot to mention the great white picked up a few years back about 16 miles off the coast of Huntington Beach, taken to the Monterey Aquarium to be put on exhibit.
What to do if you seek a shark

•Don't panic or splash around, stay calm, and try to remove yourself from the water as quiet as possible.
•Being too erratic might provoke them.
•Surf with others
•If you see fish jumping out of the water, that means they're being chased by a predator.
•And if you feel like something creepy is watching you, get out of the water.

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<!--/UdmComment--><!-- END TOOLCOLUMN --><!-- END TOOLCOLUMN --><!-- google_ad_section_start(name=main) -->Tuesday, April 1, 2008
A shark's tale...or not?

Did a great white shark attack a surfer's board at Dog Beach? We'll let you decide

laylan.connelly.jpg
LAYLAN CONNELLY
Register columnist
BEACHWATCH
lconnelly@ocregister.com

Comments 4| Recommend 9

Tom Larkin was sitting on his board, enjoying the surf at Dog Beach in Huntington, when he was rocked backward, then lowered into the water.
The board started jolting. He thought his leash plug had popped out, because his board started sinking. He tried to paddle into a wave, but he couldn't catch it because his board was wobbly. He rode one in on his stomach, and when he got out he was shocked at all the water that rushed out from inside the board.
"I was like "oh my God," he said, examining what he believed was a shark attack on his brand new, carbon fiber Aviso board.
Larkin's claim was the second Huntington Beach sighting to come through on the Shark Research Committee Web site. The other one was posted about two weeks ago, when a surfer said a shark was seen at about 7 a.m. at the north end of Bolsa Chica. He noticed commotion in the water. There was a small whale, then he saw a shark swimming next to it. "It had the tell-tale triangular shark dorsal fin, was about 10 feet in length and had a top notched rear tale," the report reads.
I chatted with lifeguards about it last week, and they said it was unlikely that a great white attacked Larkin's board.
"We're watching the water everyday," said Huntington Beach city lifeguard Steve Reuder. "We're not seeing anything like that."
But lifeguards did nab a 5-foot Mako shark, right there on shore. It looked like someone gaffed it, because it was bleeding everywhere. Makos are also known to be nasty toward humans.
Reuder BBQ'd that bad boy up.
But as for the great white: "It's a hoax," Reuder said.
He said the area down there has been experiencing an increased amount of localism, with wax etchings that claim "Locals Only" around nearby Huntington Cliffs. It could be surfers are posting these sightings to clear out crowded surf break, Reuter said.
The only time Reuder has heard of any great whites off the coast in the 32 years he has been in the department was when a mother and two babies that were hanging out down in San Onofre a few years back. Lifeguards believed they were attracted to a whale that was buried nearby, and named the two baby sharks "fluffy and bumper."
Huntington State lifeguards said there haven't been any sightings. Lifeguard Sgt. Kevin Pearsall said there has been an increase of dolphin sightings – but no sharks. He said the Huntington Beach police helicopter does a fly by along the coast every day during winter and summer, and one of the things they keep an eye out for are sharks.
He said sometimes the darker-colored dolphins can be mistaken for sharks.
"If there was one, it was on a random chance type thing," he said.
When I chatted with Larkin, he was irked that lifeguards weren't taking him seriously.
"Why would I mess up my brand new, $1,300 board to keep people from surfing dog beach. It's a crappy beach," he said.
That's a good point.
The 26-year-old surfer also notes he's from Manhattan Beach, and could care less about getting surfers out of the water in Orange County.
"It's disappointing when the lifeguards blow you off, or they care about tourism more than safety," he said. "I just think denying a potential adverse situation is a bad policy. Because I'm lucky. But it doesn't mean everybody is going to be lucky."
Larkin sent photos over to Ralph Collier, a great white expert at the Shark Research Committee, a non-profit he founded about four decades ago. Collier also was a field investigator in 1962 tracking great whites' behavior for the Smithsonian Institute and the Office of Naval Research. He also claims to be the scientist who in the 70s developed the measuring techniques used to calculate shark size based on shark tooth punctures.
What did Collier have to say about all this?
He said based on the photos, the great white shark that bit Larkin's board was 16-to-17 feet in length. He's going to pick up the board and physically examine it in person.
"If I was going to guess, it was very possible this was a female shark coming in close to shore to possibly give birth, or has given birth and is still in the area," he said.
When asked about lifeguards dismissing the claim, Collier said: "There's no doubt in my mind that they don't want people to think about sharks when you go to the beach."
But they're out here, he says.
"We have to realize our place in nature. We're subject to the animals that live there. For anyone to assume that couldn't happen, they're foolish," he said.
Larkin said he went back out surfing a few days later, and hopes it's like lighting – you only get hit once.
"I just want to make peace with the ocean," he s
 

The Great Govenor of California
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These Huntington Beach lifeguards are NOT shark experts. They are ex waterpolo players that happend to win a run-swim-run contest to get an overpaid job. They do NOT know their heads from thier ass.
 

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These Huntington Beach lifeguards are NOT shark experts. They are ex waterpolo players that happend to win a run-swim-run contest to get an overpaid job. They do NOT know their heads from thier ass.

Rail, do you think environmental changes are causing sharks to come closer to the coast and attack?
 

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