By Zeke Barlow, Ventura County Star June 30, 2010
Great white sharks find their way to the waters off the Central Coast every summer to birth their young, but this year they are making their presence known as they attack seals and wash up on beaches.
The National Park Service on Wednesday issued a warning to swimmers off Santa Barbara Island after sea lions were recently attacked by great white sharks on three different occasions. That follows a great white sighting off East Beach in Santa Barbara last weekend, prompting officials to keep the kids in the Junior Lifeguard program on the beach on Monday and Tuesday.
A great white pup was found dead on Rincon Beach last weekend. On Sunday, a man posted video of himself on YouTube helping a young beached shark back into the water near Rincon that was either a great white or salmon shark.
But while the sharks may be more visible this year, their summer stint along the coast is part of their natural cycle, said Michael Domeier, president of the Marine Conservation Science Institute and the lead scientist on the current National Geographic show, “Expedition Great White.”
“This is the time of year that mature pregnant females come into the shallow areas of Southern California to give birth,” Domeier said. “It’s not surprising to have some of the adult females looking for food at the same time of year.”
And adult great whites love nothing more than a fat sea lion or elephant seal, which are abundant in the Channel Islands. A full grown shark may eat about three pinnipeds a week, said Jeff Graham, a fish biologist at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography.
Witnesses saw the Santa Barbara Island attacks, one of which occurred in the landing area that is a popular snorkeling spot with island visitors. People are advised to enter the water at their own risk, officials with the Channel Islands National Park said Tuesday.
“Any time there is a great white in the water, there is the potential danger, so we want people to be aware of it,” said park spokeswoman Yvonne Menard.
Domeier said while the sharks may be here every year, attacks on humans are still very rare. “I would not tell people they need to worry,” he said.
Graham said the best thing to do is to stay away from an area where they have been spotted. Still, he added that it is unknown how long a shark will stay in an area after it has eaten.
For most of the year, the great whites prefer deeper, colder water than is found off the Ventura County coast, but the area is popular in the summer to pup their young, Domeier said.
The mothers give birth to about six to eight pups at a time, which are about 40 pounds and 3 feet long at birth. The pups like water that is about 100 to 200 feet deep so they can feed on fish, which are more abundant than in deeper waters.
Domeier said the sharks probably stay in the area for the first few years of life.
“The juveniles remain here, but they are harmless,” he said.
Before long, they head to an area between the mainland and Hawaii known as “the cafe.” What they are doing in the middle of the ocean, where food is more scarce, is a mystery, he said.
Attacks on humans are very rare. Since the 1920s, there have been 11 fatalities in the state from shark bites, according to California Department of Fish and Game. Though a man was killed off Solona Beach in 2008, only 20 of the 95 shark attacks over the past 57 years have occurred south of Point Conception, according to Fish and Game.
It is thought that great white populations worldwide are declining, Domeier said, but he acknowledged it is difficult to estimate their numbers because they are so elusive.
The National Park Service on Wednesday issued a warning to swimmers off Santa Barbara Island after sea lions were recently attacked by great white sharks on three different occasions. That follows a great white sighting off East Beach in Santa Barbara last weekend, prompting officials to keep the kids in the Junior Lifeguard program on the beach on Monday and Tuesday.
A great white pup was found dead on Rincon Beach last weekend. On Sunday, a man posted video of himself on YouTube helping a young beached shark back into the water near Rincon that was either a great white or salmon shark.
But while the sharks may be more visible this year, their summer stint along the coast is part of their natural cycle, said Michael Domeier, president of the Marine Conservation Science Institute and the lead scientist on the current National Geographic show, “Expedition Great White.”
“This is the time of year that mature pregnant females come into the shallow areas of Southern California to give birth,” Domeier said. “It’s not surprising to have some of the adult females looking for food at the same time of year.”
And adult great whites love nothing more than a fat sea lion or elephant seal, which are abundant in the Channel Islands. A full grown shark may eat about three pinnipeds a week, said Jeff Graham, a fish biologist at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography.
Witnesses saw the Santa Barbara Island attacks, one of which occurred in the landing area that is a popular snorkeling spot with island visitors. People are advised to enter the water at their own risk, officials with the Channel Islands National Park said Tuesday.
“Any time there is a great white in the water, there is the potential danger, so we want people to be aware of it,” said park spokeswoman Yvonne Menard.
Domeier said while the sharks may be here every year, attacks on humans are still very rare. “I would not tell people they need to worry,” he said.
Graham said the best thing to do is to stay away from an area where they have been spotted. Still, he added that it is unknown how long a shark will stay in an area after it has eaten.
For most of the year, the great whites prefer deeper, colder water than is found off the Ventura County coast, but the area is popular in the summer to pup their young, Domeier said.
The mothers give birth to about six to eight pups at a time, which are about 40 pounds and 3 feet long at birth. The pups like water that is about 100 to 200 feet deep so they can feed on fish, which are more abundant than in deeper waters.
Domeier said the sharks probably stay in the area for the first few years of life.
“The juveniles remain here, but they are harmless,” he said.
Before long, they head to an area between the mainland and Hawaii known as “the cafe.” What they are doing in the middle of the ocean, where food is more scarce, is a mystery, he said.
Attacks on humans are very rare. Since the 1920s, there have been 11 fatalities in the state from shark bites, according to California Department of Fish and Game. Though a man was killed off Solona Beach in 2008, only 20 of the 95 shark attacks over the past 57 years have occurred south of Point Conception, according to Fish and Game.
It is thought that great white populations worldwide are declining, Domeier said, but he acknowledged it is difficult to estimate their numbers because they are so elusive.
