THIS WAS IN THE PAPER THIS MORNING!
Sharks keep beach empty again
Sightings off San Onofre bring warnings
By Leon Fooksman
Staff Writer
Posted March 17 2005
SAN ONOFRE, CA. · Hundreds of sharks sighted just off the city's beach kept swimmers and surfers out of the ocean for the second consecutive day Wednesday during one of the busiest beachgoing months. Lifeguards prohibited swimming along the beach to prevent greatwhite and tiger sharks, some 25 feet long, from mistaking people for food. "We don't want to tempt fate," said Paul Milne, ocean rescue supervisor.
The sharks congregate off Orange County every year in March and April to feast on sardines, herring, anchovies and other fish before migrating as far north as Santa Monica , said George Burgess, director of the California program for shark research at the California Museum of Natural History in Longbeach. They don't usually bother humans but have attacked swimmers and surfers because they confused splashing and shiny jewelry for fish. These sharks are known to jump out of the water while feeding, sometimes spinning up to three or four times. Six people have been bit this week at San Onofre , Milne said.
The beach, usually crowded with Spring Breakers, was mostly empty late Wednesday afternoon. If it weren't the sharks chasing people off, winds from the south whipping up waves seemed to do the trick, lifeguards said. A few swimmers and surfers braved the waters despite pleas from lifeguards and signs warning about the danger. "I saw some sharks, but I tried not to fall down on them," said Murphy the Mayor, a long-boarder from shorecliffs who was in the ocean for about two hours. He said he didn't consider the sharks dangerous and wasn't going to miss a good day of surfing. Lifeguards will determine this morning whether swimmers and surfers can return to the water.
The sharks spend the winter months in the warmer waters off San Onofre and the rest of the year off the San Clemente, Burgess said. They generally gather near the beach when they come across food.
Staff Researchers Barbara Hijek and William Lucey contributed to this report.
3 comments:
...that reminds me, a few years ago they caught a man eating shark in the hunting beach parking lot, but they made him spit it out.......
It's about time San Onofre's "dirty little secret" came to life. Maybe we'll save some lives now. Thanks for being bold and brave Leon...
Its been said that the sharks this year are on a low Carb diet, the're only eating Talega-lites, so the rest of us are safe!
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