First white shark of the year spotted near Aptos

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif. (KION) The sharks are back in Aptos! Researchers say they are seeing sharks pop up in the Monterey Bay earlier in the year and in higher numbers.

Drone photographer Eric Mailander has been studying the sharks from above since 2017 and says this is the earliest he has documented a white shark in the area locals now call "Shark Park."

“I was surprised, I was just out here documenting. It’s super early but I was curious and I put the drone up but the conditions were ideal. They usually start showing up around May, or end of April. Every year seems a little different," said Mailander.

There once were no white sharks spotted between Aptos and Capitola, but now dozens are seen every year.

“This is probably the only place in the world where you can see this many white sharks in their natural habitat," said Mailander.

Aptos resident Victoria Galitzine and her son were out on the beach enjoying the water, and they're both well aware of the sharks out in the bay.

"They're always here, they always seem to hang out between the cement ship over there and the cliffs," said Galitzine.

Young white sharks usually swim in the warm waters off northern Mexico and Southern California. A study published with help from scientists at the Monterey Bay Aquarium found younger great white sharks have moved north since 2014 as water temperatures have warmed.

Some have even been seen swimming a little too close for comfort to some surfers. But experts say shark attacks are rare.

“They’re an ambush predator. If you see them at the surface they’re not really in attack mode," Mailander said.

Still, some out by the water today said they're keeping an extra eye open.