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Great White Shark. San Diego coast. Not good.

by Iva Skoch on Apr 25th 2008 at 4:24PM

Until this morning, it had apparently been some 14 years since the last great white shark attack off the coast of San Diego.

This morning, a 66-year-old swimmer in triathlon training was killed by a shark about 150 yards off Solana Beach, near San Diego, LA Times reports. Other swimmers apparently saw him actually being lifted out of the water and drug under and whey went to his aid and dragged him onto the beach. He was pronounced dead almost immediately.

Shark expert Richard H. Rosentblatt from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography said that based on descriptions of the attack and the wounds inflicted "this almost certainly was a great white shark." A large one, too. 15-17 feet.

San Diego beaches will probably be not-so-popular for a while.

Filed under: North America, United States

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Mark Shaw Apr 26th 2008 9:04AM

6 months ago (2007) an apparent Great White bit the submerged end of a long board (surf board) and pulled the board and surfer under water just off of Scripps Pier (La Jolla) just before sunrise. When the surfer inspected his board for bite marks, the entire end of the long board was completely shredded.

The seal population in La Jolla has greatly increased in recent years and the local San Diego papers have been reporting increased sightings of multiple Great Whites swimming together off of Point Loma. A sea kayaker reported seeing a 20 plus foot Great White swim directly under his kayak near La Jolla Cove last fall.

A decade ago a woman in a kayak was attacked by a Great White that breeched the water in La Jolla Cove to bite her. She was kayaking near the seals in the cove and she was treated and released for wounds, before returning to her home in Mexico.

Great whites have frequented San Diego in the past and seem to be increasing in numbers with the increase in the seal population. When the national papers claim that there haven't been any recent attacks or sighting of Great Whites in the San Diego area, they could not be further from the truth!

Any day that you don't have really large waves, you always have a risk. Most regular surfers in La Jolla have seen Great whites recently.

Mark Shaw
La Jolla, CA

iva.skoch Apr 26th 2008 9:07AM

Wow. I had no idea. Surfers are cool...I can't believe they are not afraid!

Thanks!

Erica Canales Apr 26th 2008 9:08AM

holy shit.

Patric Douglas Apr 26th 2008 6:22PM

This tragedy while unfortunate is the result of life off the California coast. These waters are sharky, and perhaps more sharky than anyone cares to admit.

It's also a testament to the white sharks ability to not choose humans as a prime prey source. After watching these animals for over 6 years now I have come to realize that they will spend a lot of time "watching and observing" suspected prey items before attacking-most often they choose not to.

Off the shores of Nor Cal I often meet surfers who say they have never seen a white shark. My response is always "that's not to say they have not seen you".

White sharks very rarely make mistakes. This particular set up, with a swimming in a black wetsuit, in the morning, along the shoreline, lagging behind a pack of other swimmers met more than one criteria for this shark to make a tragic mistake.

It is sad anyway you look at it.

Cheers,
Patric Douglas CEO
www.sharkdiver.com
www.sharkdivers.com
www.guadalupefund.org
415.235.9410

iva.skoch Apr 26th 2008 6:24PM

It certainly is.
Thanks for the info, Patrick. Very interesting.

nick May 21st 2008 4:57PM

does anyone know how many deaths there are per year by great white sharks

jon Jul 17th 2008 1:53AM

I was swimming in Carpintaria beach in California just last week July 9th 2008. I was about 50 yards out and a big piece of Shark about 3 feet long came floating right by me. This is a safe beach, but the seals that are usually there were gone! it was a very cold and overcast day. I decided to go back to the beach. Something bigger than that shark took it out. I just didn't want to hang out there any longer. I was back there today and went about 100 yards out and I saw Dolphins!! I knew it was cool to be out there, and it was a great day. Jon