Are Great Whites Becoming A Nuisance Off SoCal Waters?

Justin Cote

• March 17 2009
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• 5 comments

That was the title of a blog I saw on latimesblogs.latimes.com this morning. Personally, I don’t think so. I think the fact that there are top of the food chain predators out there is a great thing as it makes me believe that the ocean is healthy and thriving. That said, an 18-footer spotted two miles off Newport and a dude being rushed by a shark in Carlsbad (if you believe his story that is) does make you wonder about a few things, like, a) During a solo dawn patrol “Am I really the only one out here?” And b) “What are my odds like while spearfishing a kelp paddy five miles offshore?”

Great white sharks: Are they becoming a scary nuisance off Southern California?

The fatal attack on a swimmer off Solana Beach last April remains fresh in the minds of some. And two fishermen last week saw what they estimated to be an 18-foot shark, five feet wide, swimming with the confidence of an apex predator two miles beyond Newport Beach.

Steven Lockhart and Aaron Hix reported the sighting to Ralph S. Collier, who runs the Shark Research Committee, which keeps track of attacks and witness accounts off the Pacific Coast of North America.

There’s more:

–A surfer over the weekend reportedly was rushed by a large shark off Carlsbad, which is about seven miles north of Solana Beach. This has not been confirmed.

–A beachcomber off Bolsa Chica State Beach on Monday discovered a headless sea lion with other wounds. Perhaps this serves as evidence that adult great whites, which generally prey on much larger elephant seals off Northern California, are utilizing an increasingly dense sea lion population off Southern California.

Do you think great white sharks are a nuisance in SoCal or any oceans for that matter?