Shark attacks a rarity, experts say

As temperatures sizzle to summer levels, people are flocking to the beach in Newport, but few are worried about a shark attack, local lifeguards said today.

Capt. Mitch White, who has been a lifeguard in Newport Beach for 33 years, said he has fielded a few concerned telephone calls after a 66-year-old triathlete died Friday after a shark attack at Solana Beach near San Diego, but for the most part, it’s business as usual at local beaches.

“We do have a lot of oceanfront property, so we have had some shark sighting over the years,” White said, “We get the occasional small ones that are sick or disoriented, but other than that, we don’t really have any interactions with them.”

Authorities believe the shark involved in the Solana Beach attack was about a 15-foot-long great white shark. The last memorable sighting of a great white shark near Newport was about six or seven years ago, White said, when a dead whale carcass drew great white sharks to the area.

Most local sightings since then have been dolphins, White said.

“It’s very rare to see them because we have sandy bottom beaches,” he said. “There isn’t a lot of the so-called food that the big guys would be eating, so we don’t see them.”

Shark attacks are exceedingly rare, according to the California Department of Fish and Game. There have only been 95 great white shark attacks on humans in California since the 1950s, according to the department, and only 11 or 12 have been fatal. Shark attacks are even more rare in Southern California. Only 20 attacks have been recorded south of Point Conception in Santa Barbara County in the past 57 years.

The only way to completely avoid a shark attack is to stay out of the water, according to experts, but there are a few things beachgoers can do to prevent an unwanted encounter with a shark. Swimmers should avoid areas frequented by marine mammals such as sea lions, which are sources of food for some sharks, according to Carrie Wilson, an associate marine biologist for the Department of Fish and Game.

In addition, Wilson said, wearing scuba diving gear like wetsuits and fins or laying prone on a surf board can lead to a case of mistaken identity for unfortunate swimmers. Foggy mornings and dusk create conditions ripe for shark attacks because the animals often mistake people for food when there is little sunlight.

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at [email protected].