SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – It may be the perfect time to hit the beach in San Diego.
“First of all, summer is shark season in Southern California,” Dr. Chris Lowe, director of The Shark Lab at Cal State Long Beach, said.
Lowe says this is typically when we see more sharks in the water. But San Diego’s seeing an increase in white shark sightings at our beaches.
“Basically, juvenile white sharks pick certain beaches that they use as nurseries, and right now, one of those nursery hotspots is right off of Torrey Pines and Del Mar,” Lowe said.
Lowe and his team recently published a two-year study using these drones to capture how close those types of sharks get to humans.
You may think juvenile and think small, but they can be up to nine feet long at that stage.
“So, the three reasons why we think they use our beaches is because it’s safe because it’s shallow and there are fewer large predators. And we don’t typically adult-like white sharks moving along our beaches,” Lowe said. “The other thing is the water is warmer, which enables them to grow faster, and there’s a lot of easier to capture food.”
Lowe and his team’s study notes that no one was bitten by a shark despite the group of sharks and people being around each other all the time.
“So, what that tells us is that those sharks don’t consider people food and, as long as people aren’t harassing the sharks, the sharks don’t feel threatened and aren’t compelled to bite people,” Lowe said.
But still, it’s the ocean; their home, not our’s.
So, if you’re getting in the water while San Diego’s having more white shark sightings, Lowe said to be mindful of how your acting in the shark's space.
“We always say stay together. There’s less chance of you becoming a mistake. The shark mistaking your hand or foot for a prey item. But if you’re in a group, that probability of getting injured goes down,” Lowe said.
