‘Something new going on’ at Shark Park
Scientists mull future of shared ecosystem after surfer’s death
Before tragedy struck, the 3.5mile stretch of bay between Sand Dollar and New Brighton beaches known on maritime maps as Soquel Cove had become a place of mystery, discovery and awe — one of the most unusual ecotourism destinations on the planet.
Charter boats, personal boats, drones, kayaks and paddleboards would comb the waters mere yards from shore, all in search of a glimpse of the mystical creatures that had begun congregating five years earlier in such numbers that the area was dubbed Shark Park.
But the sandy shores 10 miles south of Santa Cruz remained part of daily recreational life for surfers, boogie boarders and beachgoers who opted to play in the waters despite signs warning of the unique locals who call this place home.
Pictures shot from above captured the bizarre coexistence and were splattered across social media streams. White sharks lurking within 10 to 20 yards of unsuspecting humans, although the sharks are mostly smaller juveniles that feed on small leopard sharks, skates and rays rather than the sea lions or seals a wetsuit-clad swimmer might be mistaken for.
Stanford scientist Barbara Block calls Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary the “Blue Serengeti … a place as rich as the plains of Africa. But instead of lions, zebras and gazelles, we have gray whales, orcas, humpbacks, white sharks and bluefin tuna.
“When we enter the ocean here, we’re in a very wild place.”
But not since 1960, when a 16-year-old named Susan Theriot
lost her leg at nearby Hidden Beach while swimming with classmates on a school field trip, had there been an act of aggression by a white shark against a human here.
Since 26-year-old surfer Ben Kelly was fatally bitten on the knee by a young adult white shark on the afternoon of May 9 at Sand Dollar Beach, this shared ecosystem — which was shut down for five days following the attack — has presented more questions than answers.
Was the relative safety some felt commingling with white sharks — these were “baby sharks” after all — a mirage?
Is the number of sharks in the area increasing or are there just more eyeballs on the ocean?
As summer approaches, will the waters be safe for surfing, swimming and water play anytime soon?
There are few firm answers. But key stakeholders — the scientists who study white shark behavior and migration patterns, avid white shark researchers helping track the local population and the surfers who love these breaks — help bring a better sense of understanding.
Like the white shark species itself, it’s greatly complicated.
They began congregating near the Cement Ship off Seacliff Beach in unseen numbers in 2015. A northerly push of surface water scientists refer to as the “warm blob” is credited with migration of all types of species typically found in Southern California waters.
Juvenile whites that used to grow bigger in Baja followed warmer water patterns north to coastal stops in Orange County, Malibu and Ventura — and then proceeded farther north with the “blob.”
“Climate change is causing shifts in ocean temperatures,” said Taylor Chapple, an assistant professor of marine science at Oregon State University. “The blob event was unprecedented, drawing species into habitats in which they’ve never been observed.”
Even with scientific shark tagging efforts that help track their migratory routes and amateur observers counting them from above via helicopter or drone — tallies have ranged from 20-30 in the Shark Park zone recently — the actual number of sharks that live here at any one time is impossible to know.
As Block, Prothro Professor of Marine Science at Stanford, puts it: “It’s a lounge — they are taking advantage of the heat.”
And then, as they grow and their dietary needs change, most move up the coast to areas such as Ano Nuevo, the Farallon Islands or Tomales Bay, places rich with meaty pinnipeds. That’s typically where subadult 10to 12-footers, like the one that struck Kelly, become bona fide mammal hunters that can easily exceed 15 feet in a life span that can stretch past 70 years.
Block and colleagues will be releasing a paper later this year that will help shed better light on where white sharks go and why.
“We’re hoping to be putting out more receivers and tags to learn more about the local aggregations,” Block said. “The objective now is to see how Aptos sharks fit into our local puzzle.”
Ralph Collier, founder of the Shark Research Institute, is one of the world’s foremost authorities on shark attacks. In very few cases, he believes, has a white shark intended to attack a human. From the details of Kelly’s death, he saw the telltale signs of an exploratory mission gone wrong.
“When a surfer is pulled off their board into the water, that’s more of an investigation,” said Collier, adding that sharks often display displacement behavior, trying to intimidate an unknown cohabitant out of the area.
That’s the logical explanation for kayaks or paddleboards that get knocked or bit. An extreme example occurred in Monterey in May 2017 when a kayaker got knocked from his vessel, swam away and the shark continued to chew on the kayak.
Few have had boots on the ground — or eyes above — at Shark Park more than Sean Van Sommeran, a Santa Cruz native with a commercial fishing background who began the Pelagic Shark Research Foundation in 1990 and has proudly helped tag 165 white sharks.
“I’ve been biting my nails for years,” Van Sommeran said in the wake of the fatality. “We’ve got a lot of pinnipeds and sharks that have been coming here for who knows how long.
“I’m surprised people don’t get bit more often.”
And some observers maintain the big ones are indeed around too. Specialized Helicopters pilot Chris Gularte, who flies tours over the area frequently and often posts video of sharks and humans in dramatically close distance, sounded an alarm with a Facebook warning on May 22.
He didn’t have the visuals this time but recounted the sight of a very large shark possibly acting aggressively toward a surfer, who quickly returned to shore.
“I want to really emphasize that it’s a very bad time to surf the Manresa beaches area north or south,” Gularte wrote. “I’ve been watching these big sharks really act differently this last month as I’ve never seen before. Stay out of the water — it’s just not the same as previous years.”
Tyler Fox, an Aptos native and lifelong surfer of the zone known as “The Beaches,” has the same eerie feeling.
“I think there’s something new going on,” he said.
Only days before Kelly was attacked, a friend of Fox’s got bumped by a shark. Another friend had one swim directly at him before diving below. For now, they’ll choose their surf spots conservatively.
“People are pretty shaken up — they’re scared to surf,” Fox said. “We’ve always known they’re out there. But when your friend gets bumped and another sees one swim under him clear as day, it’s getting weird.”