Ever since Jaws, great whites have had a reputation as killing machines that has never seemed much point questioning.

However, that could all be about to change – after a study into the fearsome predators’ dining habits.

Scientists towed a 36ft Brydes whale carcass into a well-known hunting ground for the animals in an exercise aimed at documenting how they tackled the huge free lunch.

And these amazing pictures show how up to 30 of them stripped a single whale carcass – and gave an ‘extraordinary’ insight into how the much-feared predators behave.

But while many would have expected a feeding frenzy and potentially lethal fights between the razor-teethed gians, the behaviour observed was quite different.

The sharks appeared to select choice cuts of the dead whale and did not appear to be aggressive towards each other.

Free lunch: The 30 great white sharks were provided with a whale carcass so scientists could study their eating habits

Tasty findings: Alison Kock was the principal scientist at Save Our Seas Shark Centre and Shark Spotting Programme, at Cape Town in South Africa and was surprised by the sharks

Alison Kock, 33, the principal scientist at Save Our Seas Shark Centre and Shark Spotting Programme, at Cape Town South Africa, said: ‘Contrary to their reputation as mindless killers, the level of selectivity for which parts of the dead whale they ate was extraordinary.

‘They targeted the energy-rich blubber, often making repeated “test bites” where no flesh was removed, and removing flesh only once they had determined it was what they wanted. If they got a mouthful of muscle, they often spat it out.

‘They were very picky.’

It’s thought the huge whale was killed after being struck by a boat and was found floating towards Miller’s Point near Cape Town, South Africa, where the clean up operation for the local authorities would have been difficult as their huge bodies are harder to remove on land.

It was also feared the body – giving off oils that attract predators like sharks – may have drawn in great whites to an area frequented by swimmers.

Kock added: ‘Permission was granted by the authorities to have the dead whale towed to nearby Seal Island where the carcass was less of an issue and the sharks could help solve the clean-up problem.

‘In addition it provided an unparalleled opportunity to document white shark behaviour and record the number of sharks in the area.

‘Whale carcasses are believed to be a very important source of food for white sharks with some scientific evidence suggesting they follow whale migrations possibly to, opportunistically feed on dead or sick whales.’

Jaws: Alison Koch said: ‘Contrary to their reputation as mindless killers, the level of selectivity for which parts of the dead whale they ate was extraordinary’

Blubber: During the nine-day experiment Kock and her team made some shocking discoveries, including the fact that the sharks seemed to have a huge preference for soft blubber over tough muscle

During the nine-day experiment, which ended on Saturday, Kock and her team made some shocking discoveries, including the fact that the sharks seemed to have a huge preference for soft blubber over tough muscle.

‘In the case of the whale carcass the sharks knew exactly what they wanted,’ said Kock.

‘It provides evidence that when they bite into a surfboard, or kayak or person wearing a wetsuit they can immediately determine it’s not something they want to eat.

‘It’s very common in attacks on humans for white sharks to take a single bite and leave it at that. Our study provides more evidence that they are simply tasting and looking for meat that is nutritious. It shows that they are not just swimming around mindlessly eating everything they come across, as they are sometimes portrayed.’

She added: ‘I was surprised at the total number of white sharks that fed on the dead whale over the nine days we documented the event. We recorded over 30 different sharks in total. At one stage we had up to four white sharks feeding simultaneously on the carcass.

‘The first two days were the busiest with the most sharks, and the activity slowly decreased as the sharks had their fill. The last two days we recorded no sharks feeding on the carcass.

‘Many of the sharks I recognised as individuals hunting seals around the island from this shark season, as well as previous years. We used their unique dorsal fins to identify them, but there were also new sharks that I had never seen before.

‘The sharks showed very little aggression towards one another in the presence of such a large food source, often feeding side by side.

‘Some of the sharks we observed were gorging on the blubber and you could actually see their bellies getting fuller.

“Some would arrive quite skinny and by the end of their session they looked pregnant with their bellies bulging.’

During the study, the sharks reduced the carcass down to less than seven feet (two metres) of bone and muscle, having removed all the blubber.

Shark enthusiast Kock, added: ‘This is the ultimate example of the very important role sharks play in the ecosystem. That of recycling life, and of keeping our oceans healthy by removing dead and decaying animals like dead whales.’

via Shark attack: Incredible pictures of 30 great whites stripping a whale carcass provide ‘extraordinary’ insight into eating habits | Mail Online.

Ever since Jaws, great whites have had a reputation as killing machines that has never seemed much point questioning.

However, that could all be about to change – after a study into the fearsome predators’ dining habits.

Scientists towed a 36ft Brydes whale carcass into a well-known hunting ground for the animals in an exercise aimed at documenting how they tackled the huge free lunch.

And these amazing pictures show how up to 30 of them stripped a single whale carcass – and gave an ‘extraordinary’ insight into how the much-feared predators behave.

But while many would have expected a feeding frenzy and potentially lethal fights between the razor-teethed gians, the behaviour observed was quite different.

The sharks appeared to select choice cuts of the dead whale and did not appear to be aggressive towards each other.

Free lunch: The 30 great white sharks were provided with a whale carcass so scientists could study their eating habits

Tasty findings: Alison Kock was the principal scientist at Save Our Seas Shark Centre and Shark Spotting Programme, at Cape Town in South Africa and was surprised by the sharks

Alison Kock, 33, the principal scientist at Save Our Seas Shark Centre and Shark Spotting Programme, at Cape Town South Africa, said: ‘Contrary to their reputation as mindless killers, the level of selectivity for which parts of the dead whale they ate was extraordinary.

‘They targeted the energy-rich blubber, often making repeated “test bites” where no flesh was removed, and removing flesh only once they had determined it was what they wanted. If they got a mouthful of muscle, they often spat it out.

‘They were very picky.’

It’s thought the huge whale was killed after being struck by a boat and was found floating towards Miller’s Point near Cape Town, South Africa, where the clean up operation for the local authorities would have been difficult as their huge bodies are harder to remove on land.

It was also feared the body – giving off oils that attract predators like sharks – may have drawn in great whites to an area frequented by swimmers.

Kock added: ‘Permission was granted by the authorities to have the dead whale towed to nearby Seal Island where the carcass was less of an issue and the sharks could help solve the clean-up problem.

‘In addition it provided an unparalleled opportunity to document white shark behaviour and record the number of sharks in the area.

‘Whale carcasses are believed to be a very important source of food for white sharks with some scientific evidence suggesting they follow whale migrations possibly to, opportunistically feed on dead or sick whales.’

Jaws: Alison Koch said: ‘Contrary to their reputation as mindless killers, the level of selectivity for which parts of the dead whale they ate was extraordinary’

Blubber: During the nine-day experiment Kock and her team made some shocking discoveries, including the fact that the sharks seemed to have a huge preference for soft blubber over tough muscle

During the nine-day experiment, which ended on Saturday, Kock and her team made some shocking discoveries, including the fact that the sharks seemed to have a huge preference for soft blubber over tough muscle.

‘In the case of the whale carcass the sharks knew exactly what they wanted,’ said Kock.

‘It provides evidence that when they bite into a surfboard, or kayak or person wearing a wetsuit they can immediately determine it’s not something they want to eat.

‘It’s very common in attacks on humans for white sharks to take a single bite and leave it at that. Our study provides more evidence that they are simply tasting and looking for meat that is nutritious. It shows that they are not just swimming around mindlessly eating everything they come across, as they are sometimes portrayed.’

She added: ‘I was surprised at the total number of white sharks that fed on the dead whale over the nine days we documented the event. We recorded over 30 different sharks in total. At one stage we had up to four white sharks feeding simultaneously on the carcass.

‘The first two days were the busiest with the most sharks, and the activity slowly decreased as the sharks had their fill. The last two days we recorded no sharks feeding on the carcass.

‘Many of the sharks I recognised as individuals hunting seals around the island from this shark season, as well as previous years. We used their unique dorsal fins to identify them, but there were also new sharks that I had never seen before.

‘The sharks showed very little aggression towards one another in the presence of such a large food source, often feeding side by side.

‘Some of the sharks we observed were gorging on the blubber and you could actually see their bellies getting fuller.

“Some would arrive quite skinny and by the end of their session they looked pregnant with their bellies bulging.’

During the study, the sharks reduced the carcass down to less than seven feet (two metres) of bone and muscle, having removed all the blubber.

Shark enthusiast Kock, added: ‘This is the ultimate example of the very important role sharks play in the ecosystem. That of recycling life, and of keeping our oceans healthy by removing dead and decaying animals like dead whales.’

via Shark attack: Incredible pictures of 30 great whites stripping a whale carcass provide ‘extraordinary’ insight into eating habits | Mail Online.

LOS ANGELES — A record number of shark-bitten otters have been found along California’s Central Coast.

Scientists say they found nineteen injured or dead sea otters that appeared to have shark bites in August, primarily in the Pismo Beach and Morro Bay areas. Seven others with similar marks have been found so far in September.

Experts say the ten year average is about seven a month. They blame the cooler than average ocean temperatures on the increase.

Those conditions make the area ideal for great white sharks which have been reported in growing numbers in recent months.

Great white sharks do not typically feed on sea otters and prefer seals and sea lions.

Most of the injured or deceased otters have been found with a single bite mark, which would indicate the sharks are doing a sort of “taste test”, according to scientists Michael Harris.

via Shark Bitten Sea Otters: Record Number of Shark Bitten Sea Otters Found Along Southern California Coast – ktla.com.

As a surfer I’m asked many different questions. I’m often asked if I have a long board or short board. (For the record, I have an 8-0 long board, which means my board is 8 feet and 0 inches long.)

I am also asked about my favorite location and how many different places I have surfed. But by far, my favorite question is about sharks.

People love a good shark story.

As many times as I have been in the water and as many places I have been, you would think that by now I would have seen one while surfing. But the only sharks I have seen in the wild were reef sharks while I was snorkeling in Hawaii. They didn’t show any curiosity and they weren’t very big.

Lately, there have been a lot of reports of great white sharks in Southern California. A group called Shark Research Committee reported numerous recent sightings on the California coast, mostly at San Onofre State Beach in San Clemente, approximately 65 miles south of Redondo Beach and Sunset Beach near Malibu, approximately 40 miles north of Redondo Beach.

Chuck Patterson, a professional surfer and stand-up paddleboarder, recently filmed two great white sharks at San Onofre created a video called “Me, My Shark and I” that went viral online within 24 hours. Last week, a local news reporter and cameraman filmed a short video of a great white shark feeding on something in the water off Sunset Beach.

The last two reported shark sightings in the South Bay, by the way, were on April 16, 2010 and April 17, 2010. Both sightings were near Flat Rock in Palos Verdes. Both witnesses were spear fishing at the time they saw a shark.

Will all this local shark activity keep me out of the water? No.

When I am out in the ocean sitting on my board watching for waves, I really don’t think about sharks. That isn’t to say I wouldn’t be scared if I encountered one, I just don’t think about them when I’m in the water.

Sharks are always out there even if you don’t see or hear about them. Adolescent great white sharks are known to feed on fish in this area every summer. As winter approaches and the waters become colder, the sharks head for Mexico where the waters are warmer.

There hasn’t been a fatal shark attack in California since April 25, 2008. A great white fatally attacked a swimmer at Fletcher Cove in Solana Beach, located approximately 99 miles south of Redondo Beach.

If I do become a little nervous the next time I go surfing, I will keep in mind that shark-related fatalities are rare in California and an attack is usually a case of mistaken identity.

But, I will keep my eye out for a triangular dorsal fin, just in case.

via Sharks Are Swimming Nearby. Should She Still Surf? – Redondo Beach, CA Patch.

A man that was kayaking over the weekend has escaped a shark attack from one of the most dangerous shark species. Adam Coca was attacked by a great white shark while he was kayaking over the weekend in the area of Pigeon Point off the coast of San Mateo.

The man, who is 45 years of age, was fishing in his kayak in a place that is known as the ‘Red Triangle’ just off the coast of San Mateo. This area is known for being a shark area and although the kayaker might not have known this at the time, he certainly knew it when the great white shark got hold of his kayak.

The man said that the shark tipped the kayak completely over but he managed to hang on to the other side of the kayak in order to prevent the shark from getting to him. Shortly after he managed to survive the attack, his friends came to his rescue as they saw what was happening.

Adam survived the shark attack with minor injuries as he just suffered a small cut on his foot. This was certainly a lucky escape.

via Kayaker Survives Attack from Great White Shark | Daily Rosetta.

Chuck Patterson was stand-up paddle boarding when two juvenile great white sharks swam up to investigate. Luckily, Patterson had the camera on a pole….which is a little bit safer, I guess.

Here’s his description of the footage:

[...] within 5 minutes a 9 ft shark came out of no where and circled twice and slapped his tail on my board before disappearing. then a minute later a 7 ft young juvenile Great White swam circles around me for 12 minutes. It was an unreal experience that I will cherish forever

Gives you chills, no?

via Man films his near-miss shark attack.

White Shark Sightings On The Rise On East Coast : NPR.

From NPR, I’m Ira Flatow.

Over the last few years, there have been more and more confirmed shark sightings at beaches on the East Coast, and this summer is no exception. Just last week, lifeguards closed part of Rockaway Beach, that’s here in Brooklyn, after surfers spotted a shark.

Further north, officials closed a remote beach in Cape Cod when a spotter of planes saw not one, not two but at least three great white sharks lurking near the shore a couple weeks ago. No one’s been allowed in the water since then.

And then just yesterday, Cape Cod’s Chatham Harbor was closed to swimming due to the sighting of a 14-foot great white shark. Scary, huh?

But before you call in Quint and his too-small shark boat in “Jaws,” to put this in perspective, there hasn’t been a fatal shark attack in New England since way back in 1936. So why are we spotting so many more great whites today?

Is their population growing, or are we just more paranoid and getting better at spotting them? Here to sort out some of the facts from fiction is my guest. Greg Skomal is a senior biologist at the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries in New Bedford, Massachusetts. He joins us by phone. Welcome to SCIENCE FRIDAY, Dr. Skomal.

Dr. GREG SKOMAL (Senior Biologist Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries): Thank you, Ira. It’s good to be here.

FLATOW: Good, thank you. Are there more sharks these days, or are we seeing more of them?

Dr. SKOMAL: I think it’s a function, it’s a number of variables we’re dealing with here, and it’s hard for us to really tell if there’s more sharks or just simply more effort.

Certainly, a lot of the sightings along the East Coast of the United States have to do with more people utilizing the shoreline, utilizing the water for various recreational activities and otherwise.

But in think in some areas, specifically off the coast of Chatham, Massachusetts and Monomoy Island, we are indeed seeing more white sharks. And I think what we’re seeing is a shift in distribution of the white shark in that particular area.

FLATOW: And what is attracting them to that area?

Dr. SKOMAL: Over the course of the last couple of decades, we’ve been seeing a steady increase in the number of gray seals and a growing gray seal, resident gray seal population in that area. I believe it’s drawing these sharks closer to shore.

FLATOW: And why would we be seeing more gray seals now?

Dr. SKOMAL: Well, back in the early ’70s, we passed the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and it’s taken the last few decades for this population to actually recover to levels that pre-existed before we eradicated the species over the course of the last several decades. So we’ve got a growing population in response to protection by the U.S. and state governments.

FLATOW: So I guess what you’re saying is that we’re seeing a restoration of this coastal ecosystem to the way it used to be.

Dr. SKOMAL: Exactly, at least that’s the way we perceive it at this time. You know, we could be going back to what existed several hundred years ago, with a robust seal population being preyed upon by a robust white shark population.

FLATOW: 1-800-989-8255. We’re talking to Greg Skomal about the sightings of great white sharks along the East Coast. Maybe if you’ve seen one, you’d like to call in and talk about it. You can also Twitter us, send us a tweet @scifri, @-S-C-I-F-R-I. Or join the discussion on our website, on sciencefriday.com.

You, what do we you know, aside from watching “Jaws” and all the scary movies about sharks and Shark Week on cable channels everywhere, how much do we really know about white shark populations?

Dr. SKOMAL: Well, there are certain parts of the world where you can predictably find white sharks. And these areas, which include, you know, the Pacific Coast, California, parts of South Africa and South Australia – these are areas where scientists have had the luxury, if you will, of going out and studying these animals at great levels.

And we’ve been able to garner quite a bit about their biology in those areas, I think. One of the spots that we know very little about the white shark is the Atlantic Ocean. And perhaps, this change in ecosystem that we’re going through up here in New England, may begin to provide us some access to these animals so we can start to tease away some aspects of their biology.

FLATOW: And you are involved in tagging sharks, are you not?

Dr. SKOMAL: Correct, correct. Yeah, last year we had a chance, for the first time, to put satellite-based technology tags on white sharks in this area, and we are already getting insights into their biology from those tags.

And already this year, we’ve placed four tags out, and we hope to be able to continue to do that over the course of the next month.

FLATOW: How do you get, you know, how do you know when it is time to reopen these beaches that have been closed?

Dr. SKOMAL: Well, you know, the local municipalities are in charge of those beaches, and all we can do at the Division of Marine Fisheries is provide information to those folks who are making these decisions.

You know, we’d like to provide real-time information on the presence of sharks as acquired through our research activities so they can make well-founded decisions on opening and closing beaches.

FLATOW: What are the odds of getting bitten by a shark?

Dr. SKOMAL: Well, you yourself indicated that the last fatal attack in Massachusetts was back in the 1930s. So that gives you a sense of what the probability is. That being said, I think it’s important to realize when you place people in close proximity to the prey of sharks, namely gray seals, you could potentially increase the risk modestly.

So I think it’s important for people to make wise decisions when getting in the water and choose areas that may be free of white shark prey.

FLATOW: Henry(ph) in Aurora, Illinois. Hi, welcome to SCIENCE FRIDAY.

HENRY (Caller): Hello there. Being landlocked, I just have an idea that possibly, there’s less fish out there for the sharks to feed on because you could ask any fishermen why are they still in port. And the sharks will wander farther around, looking for food. That’s my idea. Thank you.

FLATOW: You’re welcome.

Dr. SKOMAL: Well, I’ll tell you, that’s an interesting point, and it points to fisheries management and population management and the importance of looking at bait species and to find relationships between sharks and their prey and whether or not we’re, you know, overexploiting their prey and forcing sharks to other areas to exploit other resources.

That being said, I think it’s well-defined, the behavior of the white shark, when it comes to feeding, these animals are clearly going through, clearly prefer larger prey, namely marine mammals and specifically seals and sea lions.

So I think what we have going on off the coast of New England is actually just a national predator-prey relationship and not anything exacerbated, perhaps, by humans.

FLATOW: Let’s go to Roy(ph) in Sumter, South Carolina. Hi, Roy.

ROY (Caller): Hi, thank you so much for taking the call and specifically on this topic. It’s always been an interest. I’ve been recreational fishing in the Atlantic for 30 years. And over the last three or four years, we’ve noticed a tremendous increase in the number of small sharks that we’re catching.

It used to be something, we may catch one shark every two or three trips, and now we probably catch 10 sharks every trip. These we refer to them as bonnetheads. I dont know if that’s an accurate terminology, about a three, three-and-a-half-foot long shark, always catch them on the bottom, never catch them trawling. And I’ll take my answer off the air, but again, thank you so much for this topic.

FLATOW: All right. Could there be many big sharks because there are a lot more little sharks now?

Dr. SKOMAL: Well, you know, the bonnethead is indeed a species. It’s considered to be a healthy population off the Southeastern U.S., according to the fisheries’ statisticians. It’s not a fish that’s heavily exploited commercially, although it is sold in some numbers, and recreational fishermen like to catch it, as well.

You know, there are some folks who believe – some scientists who believe that with the removal of very, very large sharks that consume these smaller sharks, we’re seeing more species, you know, more smaller sharks out there. That may be the case, although it hasn’t been clearly demonstrated by scientists.

So it’s an area where there is quite a bit of work, but we have no real conclusions yet.

FLATOW: Have sharks been over hunted?

Dr. SKOMAL: In certain parts of the world with certain populations, absolutely. We have enough information on, for example, the dusky shark to indicate that that population off the Eastern U.S. has been overexploited and reduced dramatically.

The same is true for the sandbar shark. For other populations of sharks, they continue to be robust, and I think the bonnethead falls into that.

FLATOW: All right, let me go to Mark(ph) in New Britain, Connecticut. Hi, Mark.

MARK (Caller): Hi, thanks for taking my call. As you said, I’m in Connecticut, and I’ve noticed changes in the water temperature of Long Island Sound. It’s been creeping up, year over year, and I’m wondering if the climatic changes, increases in ocean temperature, are a possible source of increased activity.

FLATOW: Good question.

Dr. SKOMAL: Yes, an excellent question, one we anticipate a lot of research trying to answer over the course of the next decade. We know that with climate change and global warming, we’re going to see changes in the structure of fish populations in terms of the diversity of species, with a shift north of tropical species.

And it has been demonstrated for some, already. I imagine with warming water temperatures in Long Island Sound, you’re going to see a change in the fish diversity in that body of water, as well.

So, you know, it’s an area that we’re going into. We anticipate changes, and some of them have been documented. In terms of sharks, we haven’t seen any kind of dramatic shift as of yet, but some of the species that typically occur south of Cape Cod and not north, have indeed been starting to creep around the Cape. So we’re starting to see some indications that the fish populations, including sharks, are changing.

FLATOW: Steve(ph) in Cambridge, Mass. Hi, Steve.

STEVE (Caller): Hey, how are you doing? Thanks for taking the call. Great show. I think the shark thing is just a bunch of media hype, frankly. I mean, it just, you know, it makes people tune into the news shows, and I’m not sure there’s any more or less. I just think the sightings are more – maybe because there’s more fishermen out there.

But I was wondering if you might know why there’s a lot more jellyfish in the bay this year.

(Soundbite of laughter)

Dr. SKOMAL: Well, you bring up a couple of excellent points, and a lot of the shark phenomenon, or shark frenzy, if you will, is driven by the media – and it’s something we have to deal with all the time.

I can tell you that some of the shark sightings data absolutely indicate a shift that’s going on over with white sharks, and some of it’s just generated by a media frenzy. Somebody sees a fin, it may not be a shark fin, but it gets reported as such, and that just compounds upon itself.

I wish I could be of more help with you with jellyfish. I’ve been hearing a lot of folks complain about jellyfish in the bay over the last several weeks, but unfortunately, I study things a lot bigger.

FLATOW: All right, we’ll have to take a look at that, with some jellyfish folks, on a future program. But I want to thank you for taking time to be with us today.

Dr. SKOMAL: Oh, my pleasure. It’s great to be here.

FLATOW: Have a good weekend.

Dr. SKOMAL: Yes, you, too.

FLATOW: Greg Skomal is a senior biologist in the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries in New Bedford, Mass., and he was joining us by phone from there.

When we come back, we’re going to switch to electric cars, plug-ins. Do you want a plug-in? How about a Chevy Volt or a Nissan Leaf? We’re going to compare the two. Maybe you could talk to us about what you’d like to see the perfect plug-in to be. What would you are these two cars the kind you might purchase? If not, what do you want to have?

Our number, 1-800-989-8255. You can tweet us @scifri, @-S-C-I-F-R-I, or go to our website at sciencefriday.com, where you can chat around with some folks that way.

So stay with us. We’ll be right back after the break.

(Soundbite of music)

FLATOW: I’m Ira Flatow. This is SCIENCE FRIDAY from NPR.

For years, a running joke among swimmers and surfers frequenting Los Angeles County beaches has been that they had more to fear from a mild sunburn or parking ticket than a possible encounter with a hungry shark.

But no one is laughing in New England, where a recent string of great white shark sightings has prompted beach closures.

Or in San Diego, where a swimmer was attacked and killed by a white shark in April 2008.

But in waters off local beaches, white shark sightings are relatively rare. Or are they?

Experts, pointing to relatively new tracking technology, say the massive creatures are migrating down the coast to Baja California, through Santa Monica Bay.

Waters off Los Angeles County beaches are also a congregating place for their offspring.

“There is a known occurrence in the summer of juvenile great white sharks in Santa Monica Bay,” said Steve Blair, an assistant curator with the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific.

Blair said he was unaware of any shark attacks on humans in the area and it’s difficult to pinpoint specific migration tendencies among white sharks – including why they tend to linger off local coastal waters.

“They’re hard to study because they’re so large – you can’t handle them or catch them easily,” Blair said. “And they’re really not that common.”

The species has been protected in California waters since 1994, according to the California Department of Fish and Game.

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Experts say white sharks, which were added to international endangered species lists in 2004, like to feast on fish and seals, rather than oceangoers as depicted in the 1975 film “Jaws.”

Most attacks on humans, they say, stem from curiosity or mistaken identity – sharks mistaking a wet suit-clad surfer for a seal, for example.

Revelations about the white shark’s migration down the Southern California coast have been made possible through the efforts of researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium who have been tagging white sharks off Ventura and Los Angeles beaches and monitoring their movement.

Based on tracking data, sharks are swimming through waters from Santa Barbara south to Mexico, said Ken Peterson, a Monterey Bay Aquarium spokesman.

Since the program began in 2002, about 38 juvenile white sharks have been tagged off Southern California coastal beaches.

Waters off Will Rogers State Beach and Malibu have historically been known to attract white sharks, Blair said.

“There are certain areas they’re attracted to,” he said. “Any areas that include large populations of seals and sea lions.”

Sightings have also been reported near San Onofre State Beach in northern San Diego County, Huntington Beach, the Channel Islands and throughout the Central and Northern California coast, including the Farallon Islands off San Francisco.

Despite the sightings, attacks on humans are rare.

But websites dedicated to forecasting surf are rife with user-submitted notices of alleged shark sightings throughout the Santa Monica Bay.

“They’re frequently incorrect,” Blair said. “Sharks are commonly misidentified.”

Los Angeles County lifeguard officials said there have not been any recent shark sightings off South Bay beaches.

During the past two decades, there have been a string of shark sightings in waters off South Bay beaches, highlighted by a sighting in July 1978 of a rare hammerhead shark near the Manhattan Beach Pier.

In 2008, stunned whale watchers gathering at the Point Vicente Interpretive Center in Rancho Palos Verdes watched as a great white shark attacked a sea lion from underneath, throwing the animal in the air before crushing it with its jaws, according to a report in the Daily Breeze.

And in August 1982, two commercial shark hunters snagged a 16-foot female great white shark off Point Dume near Malibu.

The shark, too large to put aboard their boat, was towed to San Pedro, where a large crowd gathered to see the shark weighed. It died on the journey back to the harbor.

“All this just because of the movie `Jaws,”‘ one of the fishermen, Craig Williams, said while the massive creature hung on display for the growing crowd. “It’s not really that big a deal.”

via Great white sharks in SoCal waters may not be so rare – The Daily Breeze.

It might come as unwelcome news to swimmers and surfers, but great white sharks appear to be mounting a comeback off California.

“I think there are more sharks,” Christopher Lowe, a professor at Cal State Long Beach and director of the university’s Shark Lab, said during an exclusive phone interview. “And that’s not a bad thing; it’s a good thing.”

It’s the first declaration by a prominent shark researcher that a recovery of the embattled great white shark — the world’s most notorious predator — seems to be occurring.

A longstanding statewide ban on fishing for white sharks, an increased survival rate among young white sharks because of fishing gear restrictions, and an expanding sea lion population as a prey source are chief reasons for the comeback.

Lowe, who has performed extensive tagging of juvenile white sharks off Southern California and has pored over data dating back generations, said personal observations and increased incidental catch rates of small white sharks by commercial fishermen help support his contention.

Salvador Jorgensen, leader of the white shark research team at Stanford University’s Hopkins Marine Station, did not disagree with Lowe’s assessment but was more guarded when asked for a response.

“If what we are seeing is truly an increase in the white shark population that would be a relief,” Jorgensen said. “Currently we are finding that the total number of adult white sharks along the west coast of North America is much smaller than many people expected.”

While the prospect of great whites multiplying off the Golden State might trouble beachgoers, particularly in the middle of summer, Lowe said he does not believe a growing population would result in more attacks on humans.

“The fact that we see so few adult white sharks around populated areas tends to suggest that they don’t want to be around places where people are,” the scientist said. “People aren’t being bumped. People aren’t being hit. My guess is that sharks are actually avoiding areas of high human population.”

Southern California is a nursery area for juvenile great whites, who feed on small fishes, rays and other sharks during the summer months. Some of these sharks, measuring to about seven feet, are seen each summer by beachgoers.

There have been only eight fatalities attributed to white sharks off California dating to 1926, according to the University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File. The last fatality involved an attack by an adult white shark on a swimmer off a northern San Diego County beach in April 2008.

White sharks are found in all major oceans and “red-listed” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as a globally threatened species. The California Department of Fish and Game banned fishing for white sharks in 1994 because of concern for their survival.

Jorgensen said a joint population study of adult white sharks by Stanford University, U.C. Davis and Montana State University is still under peer review, so he could not volunteer a number. Lowe and his colleagues also have produced a scientific paper under review, supporting a recovery. “Like Sal, I’m a little hesitant to reveal too much until the paper is fully accepted, but I think the data look pretty strong,” Lowe said.

Adult great whites congregate each fall near elephant seal rookeries off Central California. A separate population gathers during the same period at remote Guadalupe Island west of Baja California.

Adult great whites congregate each fall near elephant seal rookeries off Central California. A separate population gathers during the same period at remote Guadalupe Island west of Baja California.

Among the threats white sharks have faced globally are trophy hunting for jaws and teeth — which became widespread after the release of the movie “Jaws” in the mid-1970s — and commercial fishing for fins and flesh.

It almost seems implausible, in an era during which so many species of sharks are overfished and believed to be in decline, that any species could mount a comeback.

But considering the changing landscape off California, a comeback and its timing make sense. The ban on fishing for white sharks — for sport or commercially — was imposed in 1994. That same year, voters approved a measure outlawing the deployment of gillnets within three miles of the California coast.

In Southern California, this zone is where juvenile white sharks spend the summer preying on small fishes, rays and other sharks, before swimming into warmer Mexican waters during the winter.

White sharks are still being caught unintentionally beyond the three-mile mark — The increase in these captures is what helps support evidence of a comeback — but those sticking closer to shore are no longer imperiled by the indiscriminate nets, until they venture into Mexican waters.

Adult white sharks, meanwhile, now have a seemingly endless bounty of sea lions on which to prey, along with the elephant seals they prefer.

Sea lions, once routinely slaughtered by fishermen, were spared under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. Ten years later, their population was estimated at 145,000 in a range from the Sea of Cortez within Mexico to British Columbia, Canada, with only 50,000 in the Southern California Bight.

According to the most recent National Marine Fisheries Service estimate, there there are at least 238,000 sea lions in U.S. waters, the majority of which reside off Southern California.

“So if you add those two things together, you’ve got a restored forage base for the adults and you’ve got better survivorship of the pups,” Lowe said. “So what we think we’re seeing from the fishery catch data and some of the other anecdotal pieces, is the actual recovery of the white shark population.”

The biologist added that while Southern Californians should not expect a spike in shark attacks on humans, those who spend lots of time in or near the ocean might witness more sea lions with bite marks, and more surface attacks by white sharks on the pinnipeds.

“I think the white shark population is going to do what it’s supposed to do: help regulate marine mammal populations,” Lowe said, explaining that apex predators play a vital role in maintaining a healthy marine ecosystem.

To be sure, fishermen whose livelihoods are threatened by pesky sea lions, which decimate catches and destroy gear, will cheer alongside marine conservation groups for more signs of a white shark comeback.

Swimmers and surfers? They’re probably not so enthusiastic.

via White sharks making a comeback off California, expert says – Outdoors, action and adventure.

CHATHAM — Town officials closed South Beach for swimming indefinitely yesterday after a spotter plane located at least five great white sharks off the coast.

Audio: Globe reporter Jack Nicas talks about spotting sharks from a helicopter off the coast of Chatham.

“They’re spread all up and down that beach,’’ said pilot George Breen, 66, who spotted three great whites during morning flights with a Globe reporter and photographer, and three sharks on his flight home to Falmouth.

He believes the sightings represented at least five distinct sharks, based on location and timing.

Around 1:30 p.m., after receiving radio reports from Breen, Harbormaster Stuart Smith banned swimming at South Beach, which was closed last year after five great whites were tagged around Labor Day. Yesterday’s beach closing was the state’s first because of sharks this year, although many sunbathers ignored the prohibition.

South Beach is a 4.5-mile peninsula accessible only by boat or foot that extends south off the elbow of Cape Cod. Swimming has been banned on its eastern coast.

“It is remote and rural, but it’s popular,’’ Smith said.

Just before 11 a.m. yesterday, two 12- to 14-foot great whites swam 200 yards apart, about a quarter-mile off South Beach.

To the north, another great white was swimming back and forth about 100 yards off the beach. Breen estimated the shark was 14 feet long, weighed 1,500 pounds, and was swimming along the ocean floor at a depth of 12 to 15 feet.

“They’ll even go closer than that. They’ll hang out in the white water,’’ Breen said as he circled the plane 500 feet up. “He’s just cruising the beach.’’

About 100 yards from where a great white swam, 33 children and adults at a family birthday party were lounging and playing Frisbee on the sand. Near their semicircle of chairs, seaweed spelled out “Happy 30th!’’

As Breen flew back to Falmouth around 1 p.m., he spotted three sharks, all within 100 yards of the coast. He said one off South Beach was probably a shark he had seen hours earlier, but the other two were too far south to have been the same sharks. One was near the middle of Monomoy Island, a national wildlife refuge popular with seals, and another was a mile north of the island’s tip.

In more than 30 years of flying spotter planes, Breen said he had seen “only a handful’’ of great whites before last summer, but he saw a dozen in one day in September and has seen sharks seven out of the eight days he has flown this summer.

He directed researchers to the great white that was tagged off South Beach Tuesday, but said he saw five other great whites that day.

The number of confirmed shark sightings off the Massachusetts coast this summer is approaching 20. But state biologist Dr. Gregory Skomal said the count is meaningless because many sightings could have been of the same shark.

In an attempt to more accurately count the sharks and to study them, Breen, Skomal, and commercial fishermen Bill and Nick Chaprales plan to head out today in a plane and a boat to tag great whites off Chatham.

The sharks are attracted to the area’s thriving seal population, which is growing because of the seals’ protected status, said Skomal, a shark expert with the Division of Marine Fisheries.

Thousands of seals lounged on sand bars yesterday and rolled in the waves breaking along the swoops of the Chatham coast.

Meanwhile, dozens of people relaxed on the sand of South Beach and some went in for a swim, despite the ban.

After exiting the water, Nicola Massarotti, 39, of Naples, said he thought there was little chance of an attack by a great white.

“I’d be more afraid to be hit by a car than to get in a shark accident,’’ he said.

But because of the sharks, John Roussel , 44, of Vernon Hills, Ill., said this is the first summer he will not take his son boogie boarding off South Beach.

“I just don’t want to take the chance,’’ said his son, James, 15.

At the birthday party where a shark had swam nearby, many were nonchalant. Nearly all had gone swimming in the morning, and 12 of the partiers said they went in the water even after the harbor patrol boat came by and asked them not to.

“We’re careful; we don’t go too far out. But I think I’m faster than a shark anyway,’’ joked the birthday girl, Hallie Smith, 30, of Chatham.

Breen, who has probably seen more sharks off South Beach than anyone, said the swimming ban is well advised.

“People say there hasn’t been a shark attack since 1936 in Massachusetts,’’ he said. “Well, I’ve been flying out here [for] 30 years and I’ve never seen sharks near the beach. If the sharks aren’t there, they’re not going to attack you. But now they are, so it’s a whole different story.’’

via Shark sightings close a Cape Cod beach – The Boston Globe.