shark encounters off calif?

[marpac]

anyone out there ever have any encounters with sharks while diving off the california coast, if so, did you have to deal with it in some way?
I have never had to deal with a shark, but I'm sure the day will come where i'll have to deal with one.
any pointers on how to deal with the threat of sharks although rare?
thanks

 

[dpbishop]

Sharks just aren't a threat of any significance in SoCal. In thirty years of diving I've seen one "big" shark, a six footer, that swam by about 30 feet below us at the Blue Grotto on Catalina. It ignored us. While others have reported seeing Great Whites while diving, they were brief sightings of sharks that were just passing by. Best advice is try not to look like a sea lion.

 

[cmburch]

I have seen a few sharks in Monterey Bay while diving. They may have been horned or angel sharks. Just don't swim up to them and stick your finger in their mouth and you should be OK. I have only see leopard sharks when swimming or surfing. As for blues or GWS just don't flop around on the surface with a stringer of bleeding fish or act like their food. Also not swimming/surfing near seal or sea lion breeding grounds or where there is a lot of seals/sea lions is a good idea. The poor man this year that was swimming in Southern California when he was lifted out of the water by the shark. He yelled, "Shark" then bled out pretty quickly before he could be saved. He really did not have any time to react or do anything.

 

[pasley]

LaJolla 2001, Great visibility at over 40 feet saw 2 blue sharks estimated at 6 feet and cruising at about 10-15 feet depth and just inside our visibility limit. Dealt with it by stopping and watching in aw at the beauty of these animals from our position at 25 feet.

Malaga Cove 2005 Leopard shark. Dealt with it by watching this beautiful creature swim toward us at our depth. I then noticed my buddy had not seen him as he was looking down. Tapped him, he looked at me, I pointed to our front he looked up (we were horizontal) and by then the animal was 2 feet or so away, executing a U-turn, so all he got to see was the shark swimming away.

Sharks are not something you need to worry about. It is rare to see one at all. In 290 dives, 280 in SoCal, I have only seen 4 sharks (not counting horn, or angel sharks). In all instances they were no threat. I recall one diver a few years back who saw a GW up in Malibu, he hugged the bottom and enjoyed the experience (15 foot visibility, could just see the font of the animal, estimated it at 10 foot) said it was a magical experience, and wet suits clean up pretty easy.

In 2007 in the entire world there was a total of 71 unprovoked shark attacks on humans resulting in only one fatality. Of these only 4.6% or 3 people were divers and snorkelers (note snorkelers spend a lot of time on the surface where sharks like to hunt and look a lot like seals a favorite food). Of the 71 world wide unprovoked attacks, 50 were in the USA with the majority of those occurring in Florida (32 attacks) with Volusia County accounting for about 1/2 (17) of the US total. The remaining US attacks occurred in Hawaii (7), South Carolina (5), California (3), North Carolina (2), and Texas (1). http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/statistics/2007attacksummary.htm So as I said, you have nothing really to worry about. I would be more concerned with how you are going to explain your next 7 day live aboard trip to the significant other.

Bottom line, sharks are really nothing to worry about. You are 6X more likely to get killed by lightning in California than by a shark, 45 X more likely to be killed by a dog than a shark, and 786 X more likely to be killed riding a bycycle than by a shark. So if you really want to worry about something, worry about riding a bike, or if you dog is looking at you with devotion or as his next meal.

Now about how to deal with a shark if you see one. Stay calm, stay off the surface, stay on the bottom (many sharks attack by launching out of depths under their victim) and chill until he leaves the area. Really nothing to be concerned about.

 

[drbill]

I have seen a number of different sharks in our waters, but nothing like we used to 30-40 years ago here. Blues are a rarity especially near shore. I see shortfin makos out in blue water when we chum for them. Most of the ones we see on the reefs and in the kelp forests are horn, swell or leopard sharks with the occasional group of soupfin (tope) sharks. None of these common species pose any threat unless you harass them.

 

[White Knight]

Pasley, 45 more times likely to be killed by a dog than a shark? I agree that shark encounters are remote--at least with the Great Whites--but am I understanding these odds correctly? Apples to apples: One hour out of the water vs. one hour in the water: 45 times more likely to be killed by a dog--hour for hour? Or is the one hour in the water being compared to the thousands of hours out of the water? Anyway, I can't say I have ever seen a big shark underwater either--thank God--in 25 year of diving. However, I was swallowed live by a whale once and blown out of its blow hole! The post was great...thank you! Just making sure I understand the stats.

 

[pasley]

Pasley, 45 more times likely to be killed by a dog than a shark? I agree that shark encounters are remote--at least with the Great Whites--but am I understanding these odds correctly? Apples to apples: One hour out of the water vs. one hour in the water: 45 times more likely to be killed by a dog--hour for hour? Or is the one hour in the water being compared to the thousands of hours out of the water? Anyway, I can't say I have ever seen a big shark underwater either--thank God--in 25 year of diving. However, I was swallowed live by a whale once and blown out of its blow hole! The post was great...thank you! Just making sure I understand the stats.

I don't recall mentioning time or per hours of exposure and that would be challenging to calculate. I provided a very simplistic risk analysis based upon the number of deaths occurring from dogs Vs sharks. Perhaps the I should have more correctly stated there were 45 times as many people killed on average per year over a 10 year period (the 1990s) by dogs than was killed by sharks on average over the same period. The actual numbers over a 10 year period were 18 Dog related deaths to 0.4 Shark Related deaths (0.4x45=18). Deer on the other hand kill 118 per year on average. You do the math. Source:U.S. Annual Average of Animal-Related Fatalities During the 1990s (Including Sharks)

The source of the numbers is provided for your study.

 

[drbill]

Fortunately, I've never encountered a dog.. or a deer... underwater or I'd be very, very worried!

 

[White Knight]

Thanks for the explanation and the stats....

 

[shoupart]

The vast majority of my 350 dives have been beach dives, and I've seen a lot of small-ish sharks.

Mostly horn sharks, but I've seen lots of leopard sharks, too, ranging from 1 foot to 5 feet long. Seen a couple of swell sharks.

I have seen a few soupfins, too, and once, when I was about to jump in the water off my kayak, I saw a great white chasing after some sea lions on the surface, about 40 feet away.