News item: Standup paddler pursues great white shark into shallow water, where surfers sit unsuspectingly, waiting for waves. The encounter is captured on video and widely shared on the Internet. It’s at least the second encounter videotaped this week off Manhattan Beach in Southern California; the other involved a surfer and is picked up by the media. Among the phrases used: “Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water…”; “Surfers beware,” and “Way too close for comfort.”
Reaction: It seems the circus has begun, picking up where it left off last fall. Wagner Deabreu, who uploaded the footage posted below, is merely the latest SUP paddler to have intentionally sought and found a great white shark off Manhattan Beach. He won’t be the last between now and the end of summer. And whereas the media are generally quick to bite, the sharks are not; most surfers know this and choose to stay in the water.
What’s interesting, however, is that while juvenile great white sharks are known to feed along the Southern California coast, Manhattan Beach is somewhat of an epicenter for sightings each spring and summer. Sharks are spotted by boaters, pier-goers, surfers and paddlers on a fairly regular basis.
Scientists say that young white sharks regard the area, which is reasonably tranquil and warm, as a prime feeding ground. They prey mostly on bottom fishes such as halibut, small rays, and other small sharks. But shark experts also know that the advent of standup paddling (SUP) and mountable video cameras have combined to created a circus atmosphere.
Last November, after a spate of intentional close encounters, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife cautioned paddlers and pier fishermen that they could be in violation of state law. White sharks are a protected species and it’s illegal to harass them.
Stated white shark expert Chris Lowe: “Right now, every surfer/thrill seeker with a GoPro is going out to Manhattan Beach and trying to film them, ride them, and catch them on hook and line.
“Most people do not understand the regulations, and that even incidental catch [or] being caught swimming after a shark with a GoPro camera can be considered take or harassment and is a citable, even jailable offense.”
Was Deabreu harassing the 7- to 9-foot white shark he seemed to be herding directly toward the surfers? That’s for others to judge.
Another question is when the next encounter will arrive on the Internet, or on the nightly news. At least two great whites were spotted multiple times this week swimming near the Manhattan Beach Pier.
Fishermen on the pier will be hooking sharks at some point soon, intentionally or unintentionally, and SUP paddlers will follow and videotape them.
Fortunately, these predators don’t get interested in larger prey–seals and sea lions–until they reach 10-12 feet. By then they typically are in other areas, such as island and coastal rookeries.
If those larger sharks chose to remain off Manhattan Beach, however, this would be an entirely different kind of circus.
–Pete Thomas, via GrindTv Outdoor
–Image is a video screen grab
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