Depending on where you are, it’s not at all uncommon to encounter some marine life if you’re out surfing or paddle-boarding. What you might not expect, however, is being swarmed by more than a dozen Great White Sharks.
That’s exactly what some beachgoers in Southern California encountered recently when about 15 large sharks started to swim around them while they were out in the water.
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Due to the unpredictable nature of sharks, the Orange County Sheriff’s department even got involved, and they took footage as well.
Taking to the skies in a helicopter, the deputies warned the swimmers, “You are paddle-boarding next to approximately 15 great white sharks.” They went on to inform, “The sharks are as close as the surf-line.”
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They also clarified that the warning was issued through the State Parks Department, and that “they are advising you exit the water in a calm manner.”
When you find out that your paddleboard is flanked by many, many dangerous sharks the last thing you are likely to do is to behave in a “calm manner,” but there were no reported incidents so it sounds like everyone did in fact exit the water safely.
Not that this would necessarily be advised, but the footage reportedly features one paddleboarder scaring off a young shark with his paddle. That takes courage and skill.
The Long Beach Fire Department also jumped in to help warn civilians, issuing a shark advisory “until further notice,” but also making sure to clarify that there was “no aggressive behavior.”
Fire captain Cameron Abel, of the Long Beach Marine Safety Unit, recalled that they saw an increase in shark activity this time last year also. He told reporters that they “were around most of the summer,” and said, “We’d spot them periodically, and towards the end of the summer they disappeared.”
A lifeguard in the area was quoted as saying, “We haven’t had any reports of anyone being bumped or charged, just observations of them either swimming or breaching.”
Some marine biologists believe the sharks are suddenly turning up close to Southern California beaches due to the area’s “thriving aquatic ecosystem.”
Chris Lowe, the Cal State Long Beach Shark Lab director, has been studying the change in the shark’s habitat life for a while and he offered a reason why they’re showing up now.
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Lowe said, “Ocean temperatures are rising, causing them to live in places they’ve never lived before. Populations are coming back. And ocean conditions may be pushing them to new places.”
He added, “They didn’t migrate south in the winter, which they usually did,” and then suggested that if the water temperature patterns don’t get back to normal, the sharks “might start residing here.”
Sounds like we all might have to get used to surfing in chain-mail swimsuits.
[H/T: Daily Mail]
