It’s Shark Week! Should Central Coast residents fear sharks or dive in?

APTOS, Calif. (KION) Shark week is a cultural phenomenon that started on the Discovery Channel that dedicates its programming to some of nature's deadliest predators but should central coast residents fear sharks?

Chris Lowe, Marine Biologist and Professor at CSULB, who has been featured on Shark Week says the series is not as accurate as what scientists have observed out in the wild.

"I have a love and hate relationship with it. It's good in that it gets people interested in sharks. It's bad in that it conveys fear. What people see in shark week does not match what we see when we study sharks in the wild," said Lowe.

Lowe says sharks usually don't mean any harm to humans and serve an important purpose in the ocean's ecosystem. As top predators, they make sure that prey populations are healthy and do not overpopulate.

"White sharks, for example, their favorite thing to eat are stingrays in California. Seals are the Five Guys cheeseburger for white sharks. They're the all-time favorite," said Lowe.

 Eric Mailander, a shark enthusiast who often photographs sharks in Aptos volunteers his time to help with shark research for scientists at Monterey Bay Aquarium.

"We're in their territory, we're in their habitat and may resemble a seal or sea lion," said Mailander.

One resident from Aptos says that shark attacks are a rarity from the 10 years that he's lived in Aptos.

"It only happens so few times, maybe once a year," said Muratn Ozbey.

Despite this, Lowe provides some precautions to help mitigate any dangers with sharks.

"Go to the ocean, go for the recreation, realize that sharks are out there, stay together, and safety in numbers," said Lowe.