Sharks still swimming near Seacliff State Beach
The nicer the weather gets, the busier the Central Coast beaches get, including Sea Cliff State Beach in Aptos where groups of sharks are still being spotted a week after NewsChannel 5 first reported about them showing up by the dozen. Tuesday, News Channel 5 went up with Specialized Helicopters and a shark scientist to see if the great whites were still around.
More than ten, six to eight foot great whites were seen from above, and so close to shore near the cement ship. David Ebert, who has made studying sharks around the world his life’s work was even surprised.
“People get excited about the big ones, but these small ones we didn’t know they occurred in such large numbers in the Monterey Bay area. They tend to be more up in Southern California,” Ebert said.
Ebert believes more sharks are being seen along the Central Coast because of the El Nino bringing warmer water temperatures earlier in the year. Those warmer temperatures bring more people to sea cliff state beach as well, prompting state parks lifeguards to put up warning signs once again.
The Thompson family has been coming to Sea Cliff Beach for more than 20 years, and never saw a shark, until now.
“We’ve seen at least five sharks right here. When we first got here they were swimming just in front of us right off the, where the water is maybe about 150 to 200 feet down,” Ron Thompson said.
If you’re wondering why the sharks are swimming in shallow water Ebert said it’s an easier place for the sharks to hunt for their food of choice, sea lions, not humans.
“On a typical year you may have no shark attacks, you may have as many as a half a dozen but it’s extremely rare relative to the amount of time people spend in the water,” Ebert said.
Either way the Thompson’s said they aren’t taking their chances being mistaken for something else in the water
“I hope for the beach’s sake that the sharks leave soon. So that everybody can have a good time,” Thompson said.
