Shark Death in Ca

[Lockedin]

A suspected GWS killed a 66 year-old triathlete around 07:00am PST.

Here's the link:

abc7.com: Shark kills triathlete at Solana Beach near San Diego, Calif. 4/25/08

SOLANA BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- An early morning training session turns tragic for a swimmer in San Diego County. Authorities say 66-year-old retired veterinarian Dr. Dave Martin of Solana Beach was in the ocean with a group of people when the shark suddenly appeared. It all happened in Solana Beach, about 14 miles north of San Diego.

Dr. Martin had lived in Solana Beach since 1970. He is believed to be part of a group of 15 local triathletes who swam every Friday in the kelp beds off Solana Beach. Dr. Martin was bitten from the knee down on both legs.
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The attack took place about 150 yards offshore and several swimmers wearing wetsuits were in a group when the shark attacked, Solana Beach lifeguard Craig Miller said. "It looks like the shark came up, bit him, and swam away," said Solana Beach Deputy Fire Chief Dismas Abelman.

Miller said two swimmers were about 20 yards ahead of the man when they heard him scream for help. They turned around and dragged him back to shore.
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"And he had a huge laceration, almost severed leg from just below the kneecap down to the ankle on both legs. It was a big bite mark," said surfer Rob Blaze, who was at the scene. "We tried to go over there and help, but by that time... As soon as it happened, of course, they were already starting to get him in. And I guess, from one of the people that was out there with him, he yelled out, 'Shark,' and said he had gotten bit. And by the time we saw him, he was really, really pale. He had lost a tremendous amount of blood."

Dr. Martin was declared dead after being taken to the Fletcher Cove Park lifeguard station.

"This was almost certainly a great white shark," said Dr. Richard Rosenblatt from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography.

Swimmers have been ordered out of the water for a 17-mile stretch of the coastline. Sheriff's helicopters are patrolling the waters to see if the shark is still in the area.

"The chances of finding this particular shark are probably pretty slim," said Dr. Rosenblatt.

The beaches could remain closed for 72 hours. Rob Hill, a friend of Dr. Martin's and a member of the Triathlon Club of San Diego, said he was running on the beach while about nine other members were in the water when the attack took place.

"They saw him come up out of the water, scream 'shark,' flail his arms and go back under," Hill said. "The flesh was just hanging," and Martin may have bled to death before he left the water, Hill said.

Hill said club members had been meeting at the beach for at least six years and never had seen a shark.

The last fatal shark attack in California, according to data from the state Department of Fish and Game, took place in 2004, when a man skin diving for abalone was attacked by a great white shark off the coast of Mendocino County.

On Aug. 19, 2003, a woman swimmer was killed by a great white at Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County on the central California coast.

The last fatal shark attack along San Diego County was off Ocean Beach in April 1994.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

Beaches closed after fatal shark attack in North County

By Karen Kucher and Debbi Farr Baker
UNION-TRIBUNE BREAKING NEWS TEAM
and Terry Rodgers
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
11:53 a.m. April 25, 2008
SOLANA BEACH – Several North County beaches were closed Friday morning after a man was killed in a shark attack north of Fletcher Cove, officials said.
Dave Martin, 66, was attacked as he was swimming about 150 yards offshore shortly after 7 a.m., officials said.

A helicopter initially was sent to take Martin to a hospital, but he was pronounced dead at a lifeguard station.

Witnesses told lifeguards that a “big gray shark” attacked the man, biting both his legs, said Solana Beach Marine Safety Capt. Craig Miller. The man has not been identified.

The man was swimming with a group of about 10 others, heading north from Fletcher Cove, near Tide Park, when the attack occurred. The group regularly swims in the area. All the swimmers were wearing wet suits.

Miller said two of the swimmers were about 20 yards ahead of the victim when he was attacked. They heard the victim screaming, went to his aid and brought him to shore, he said.

Encinitas Lifeguard Lt. Paul Chapman, who went to Fletcher Cove after the attack, said the victim's legs had suffered deep jagged lacerations, from the upper thighs to the lower shin, with a bite radius of about 22 inches.

“Wherever that thing is right now,” Chapman said, “it's pretty good-sized.”

Shark attacks are extremely rare in Southern California.

“I can't remember a shark ever being in this area before,” Miller said.

Officials closed beaches in Solana Beach, Del Mar and Encinitas after the attack.

Lifeguards in two vehicles were patrolling Solana Beach's 1.7 miles of coastline and a sheriff's helicopter flew overhead Friday morning, telling people to stay out of the water.

Beach closure signs also were posted.

“This is a tragic situation for Solana Beach and the surrounding areas and the county of San Diego,” said Solana Beach Mayor Joe Kellejian.

Kellejian urged the public to listen to safety officers and to stay out of the water.

“It just doesn't happen. A shark attack is unheard of,” said Solana Beach Deputy Fire Chief Dismas Abelman.

In Encinitas, the city just north of Solana Beach, extra lifeguards were called in and they cleared the water as a precaution, warning surfers face-to-face not to go out.

“We're keeping the water clear and informing people that they shouldn't be in the water,” Chapman said. “A couple people have chosen to go in the water and surf at Swami's and one at Beacons, against our advice.”

Chapman said that seals and sea lions have been beaching themselves in the area – he said a crew from Sea World was on its way to rescue one as he spoke. Such beachings are a possible sign of a large predator in the coastal waters.

“Those are signs that say this isn't the place to go,” Chapman said. “We have one person fatally wounded and we have sea life exiting the water. It's better to say out of the water and give it time.”

He also said a juvenile great white shark washed up on a nearby beach a few weeks before.

Officials are trying to determine how long beaches should be closed. Solana Beach may close its beaches as long as 72 hours, Miller said. If swimmers ignore the ban, he said, sheriff's deputies would be called to enforce the order.

The swimmers who were with the victim were taken to a community center to be debriefed, Abelman said.

A Coast Guard helicopter was sent to the area. The crew helped clear the area and spotters were trying to “spot the culprit,” said Coast Guard Petty Officer Clinton Dotson.

So far, no San Diego beaches have been closed, San Diego lifeguard Lt. Nick Lerma said. “It happened a significant distance from us, so we're sort of status quo,” Lerma said.

The state lifeguards who patrol Carlsbad's shoreline also did not feel the need to close that city's beaches, but did post warning signs and were broadcasting advisories from loudspeakers at lifeguard posts, said Lifeguard Travis Fryant.

“It's not a mandatory closure,” Fryant said. “We're letting the public know the facts and letting them make their own decisions about it.”

Lifeguards in Oceanside were also broadcasting warnings over their stations' loudspeakers, said city Lifeguard Emile Lagendijk.

The ocean temperatures off the coast are in the upper 50s, fairly typical for this time of year, according to Jim Purpura, meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service office in Rancho Bernardo.

The last time a shark was confirmed to have killed someone in San Diego County waters was in 1994.

The victim, 25-year-old Michelle Von Emster, went for a nighttime swim by herself in Ocean Beach April 14.

Her body, with her leg severed at midthigh, was found the following day two miles to the south, near the surfing area known as Garbage Reef.

Investigators determined she drowned after being bitten by a great white shark.

Homicide detectives were called in after friends of the victim raised questions of foul play.

Friends said the woman – whose body was found unclothed – would not swim alone or without a swim suit. They also wondered why Von Emster's purse was found on the bluffs above the beach, and why her clothing was never found.

Reports of a great white shark at the same spot raised alarms in 2003, two years after great white shark sightings caused a scare at the venerable surf spot at San Onofre State Beach. No one was harmed either time.

 

[glubglub]

OK it says the beaches are closed from Del Mar to Carlsbad. So LJ shores / coves are still open (10 miles south of where the attack is). I really really want to get into the water, but do you guys think it's a good or dumb idea to do so?

 

[Bill McIntyre]

I don't think its more or less dumb than it was yesterday.


I just might not be able to enjoy it as much today.

 

[glubglub]

Thanks for the reply. I guess I would be pretty "on the lookout" mode when I hit the water today after work. It's interesting how the sharks confuse the wetsuits with seals' skin. Kicking off another topic here, can maybe different color or texture on wetsuits ward off this?

 

[Lockedin]

I don't think its more or less dumb than it was yesterday.


I just might not be able to enjoy it as much today.

True.

Though walking through a crowd of beached seals might not be a good idea.

 

[Robbert]

There is a guy who patented a zebra type pattern for surfboards with the claims the pattern was anti-shark. I think he was out of Australia.

His theory was strong contrasting patterns was used by nature to thwart predators or warn them they did not taste good.

It does kind of make sense when you think about it. With big black and white zebra stripes we would look less like seals! The question would then be do sharks follow eye sight more or vibrations more?

Any testing volunteers?

- Robbert

Thanks for the reply. I guess I would be pretty "on the lookout" mode when I hit the water today after work. It's interesting how the sharks confuse the wetsuits with seals' skin. Kicking off another topic here, can maybe different color or texture on wetsuits ward off this?

 

[salibandy]

But sharks attack from the bottom. Your silhouette when viewed from below would not show much colour other than black. Unless of course the shark chooses to attack you from the side when you're beneath, then the striped pattern makes sense.

 

[blaiz]

Crazy! I used to live 2 minutes from Fletcher Cove. I have night surfed there hundreds of times... well a handfull of times