Shark spotted in water near beach in Aptos

A shark was spotted in the water near the same beach a great white washed ashore Sunday.

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office posted a shark advisory below the Seascape Resort in Aptos Thursday, after several people said they saw a 10 foot shark swimming about 30 feet from shore.

Deputies notified the Seascape Resort, and placed warning signs along the beach and at the trail-heads in the area.

The sheriff’s office posted to Facebook saying they understand the ocean is the sharks environment but said, “We get calls routinely and we are actually obligated to post signs and warn the public regardless of people’s opinions of whether or not they will harm anyone. In the end it is an alert to inform the public.”

A lifeguard with State Parks says posting warning signs is standard procedure. The key thing, however, is to make sure that witnesses actually saw a shark and not something else like a seal or dolphin.

“Specific information on what they saw, what was the activity, what kind of fins did they see, what did the fins look like, what color, what was the movement, how long did they actually see it, how far offshore. Just a variety of questions,” said Eddie Rhee-Pizano, the State Parks lifeguard supervisor.

A great white shark was found dead on the beach below Seascape Resort Sunday. Law enforcement officials with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife are investigating the death.