More than a dozen sharks spotted off Aptos beach

Over a dozen sharks were seen off Seacliff State Beach in Aptos Thursday, prompting the cancellation of a junior lifeguard program happening in the water.

“We were playing one of the competition games and they told everyone to get out of the water,” program participant Alex Minugh said.

Shark researchers in the area said the 13 sharks weren’t bothering anyone and were swimming around the cement ship. However, program leaders cancelled the swim part of the day as a precaution.

“The junior guard program was about a mile down coast of where the sighting was,” Santa Cruz State Parks supervisor Eddie Rhee-Pizano said. “It was outside the window for noticing, for the warnings, but what we did as for precautionary was ended up cancelling all the water activities for the rest of the day.”

Warning signs were posted along the stretch of Seacliff State Beach to make sure people were aware of the sightings.