Shark Infested Waters Cleared by Lifeguards
The Clearing of the San Onofre Lineup Due to a Great White Highlights A Growing Trend of Shark Sightings in Southern California
 On the Saturday morning of April 25th, 2009, lifeguards at the San Onofre State Park cleared the water after several sightings of and encounters with a 10-12ft. great white. Reportedly, there were at least three different troubling encounters with one or a group of sharks, just a few yards offshore. One surfer reported striking a 10ft. shark while paddling along the shoreline, another being bumped off his surfboard, and yet another nearly missing a head-on collision. The sightings and encounters began around 9:30AM and continued throughout the morning almost until noon. Starting approximately at 10AM, lifeguards were driving along the beach and using their bullhorn every 200 yards, saying, “shark sighting, one mile, and state park recommends you leave the water.”
The incident comes in the wake of a rising number of shark sightings over the past few months, primarily between San Diego and San Clemente. Along this Southern California coast, there have already been seventeen officially reported shark sightings this year, one of which has been classified as an attack, where a 10ft. great white repeatedly charged a diver who fended off the shark with his spear in the La Jolla Cove area.
Since January, the number of sightings and encounters has steadily increased, with 8 reports in January; 3 in February; 10 in March; 12 in April; and 10 thus far in May. Last year’s fatal shark attack at Fletcher Cove, Solana Beach happened on April 25th, during springtime leading into summer.
When considering a Stanford study and the seasonal swings of beach-going behavior, there isn’t much of a surprise in these numbers. On the Stanford note, some of the results of the study indicate that great whites tend to spend fall in Northern California feeding on elephant seals and then migrate south for breeding, often traveling to Southern California and Baja but sometimes as far as Hawaii. The seasonal migration of these white sharks coincides with the seasonal increase of beach traffic, as warmer water/ air temperatures boost the beach appeal, especially as vacationing sparks during late spring and summertime. With more sharks on the one hand and a larger population of beachgoers on the other, the spike in sightings and encounters of great whites is (from a swimmer’s point of view) unfortunately expected.
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