A warning for those heading to the beach this Independence Day

If you plan on hitting the beaches for the Fourth of July… a warning.

Several sharks have been spotted swimming along Central Coast beaches over the past few weeks. Jason Perryman saw one recently and says, “Just like out of nowhere… a white shark just breaches like completely vertical… Into the air.”

Perryman was doing some filming for the Pelagic Shark Research Foundation last week. When a great white took him by surprise. Shark expert, Sean Van Sommeran was on the same boat just off Seacliff Beach. With many people heading to the beaches for the Fourth of July. Sommeran has some safety tips. “The ocean is the last place to go… to go and be careless. You know, let alone around big shark. So we are asking the public to you know, give them room, don’t encroach.”

The concrete ship is a very popular spot to see great white sharks and that trend continues all the way up to New Brighton Beach.

Kristy Melenudo and her son were fishing off New Brighton Beach last week, when she captured video of sharks. “Literally everywhere we stopped from New Brighton all the way down to Seacliff. Everywhere we turned there were fins.” And while she was startled… Her son was not. Kristy says, “He has no fear. He was laughing while the shark charging us, and I was screaming.”

Jake Melenudo says “The chances of them coming up is very slim, and there are so many people out here, even deeper in the water that the chances of me getting bit is very slim.”

And for those who still plan to make the trip to the beach. Here’s where to go if you want to play it safe.

“The beaches with lifeguards on duty, the state parks are always a good bet. You know the outside chance that if anything bad were to happen.” – Sommeran