Why sharks are swimming along the Central Coast
UPDATE 6/27/2016 6 PM: From sea otters to great white sharks, the Monterey Bay is a pelagic playground for all types of marine life. With the very popular “Shark Week” well underway, we spoke to one local expert about what’s lurking in the water.
David Ebert is the executive director of the Pacific Shark Research Center based at Moss Landing Marine Labs. He has participated in several programs, most recently working to catch and tag a megamouth shark in Taiwan.
He said the Monterey Bay is home to a variety of sea creatures, including sharks.
“We have a lot of different sharks,” Ebert explained. “We have small sharks, which are called demon catsharks, which are very small. Often people won’t recognize those sharks. They tend to live in deeper waters and you’re not likely to see those unless you’re fishing offshore. Then we also have things like leopard sharks, which are very common on the coast here. They’re very common in Elkhorn Slough. They’re pretty sharks, and that’s where they get the name from — Leopard. They have spots on them. And of course we have the great white shark, which is kind of the one (of) movie fame, kind of like ‘Jaws,’ and so everybody gets excited about white sharks.”
On Monday, at least ten great whites could be seen from the air between Sunset State Beach to Capitola. At Manresa State Beach, people were surfing, stand-up paddleboarding, even building castles, just yards away from them. While it may be intimidating to beachgoers, news of more sharks is exciting for researchers.
“I think it speaks very well to the health of the bay out here,” Ebert explained, “That we’re seeing a large number of these little white sharks which tells me they are expanding their range into this area. Because this is more typical of southern California, and the fact we’re seeing (them) up here means the population must be doing well and they’re expanding their range into new habitat.”
He believes the Marine Mammal Protection Act has somewhat helped the shark population. More marine mammals for sharks to eat means more sharks.
That doesn’t worry locals like Stephanie Greenfield, who believes she once had a close encounter with a shark.
“I did see something pop up,”Greenfield said. “It was different from a dolphin. They kind of swim up straight at you and kind of look at you and just like a submarine, they submerge. My husband was with me at the time. He saw it too and we just kept surfing.”
Michael McCarthy, said out-of-towners have nothing to fear going into the water.
“I’m going to get into an accident driving home today more likely than I’m going to get bit by a shark going out there today,” McCarthy said.
Statistically, he is right. According to Ebert, since 1950, there have been an average of three shark attacks in California every year.
“That’s been holding steady for going on 66 years and you think: California’s population has gone from about 15 million people to 40 million people and the number of attacks hasn’t really increased,” Ebert said. “So when you put it in perspective, it’s pretty remote that you’re going to be attacked by a shark.”
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