San Diego Shark Attack

Good Morning!

I'm pretty sure everyone in even the most remote outreaches of the planet have by now heard about the shark attack which occured yesterday near Fletcher cove in north San Diego county. While all shark attacks are unfortunate and ities are extremely rare, great white attacks are particularly vicious and usually end up as gruesome ities which was the case in yesterday's attack.

One of the most often asked questions I receive when people ask me about paddleboarding in the open ocean is "Aren't you afraid of sharks?" The answer I give is that actually, no I am not. I am aware of the fact that they are there but I greatly respect them and I realize that once I enter into the ocean I am entering a wilderness area over which we humans have to give up control of certain circumstances which may occur- first and foremost being the fact that it is possible (however remote) that we can be bitten or killed by a great white shark. If I let fear overcome me I would have to stop paddling and surfing and I cannot allow that to happen, the ocean gives me too much to let fear come into it.

This attack is the first documented attack on a human being in all of southern Ca. which extends from Pt. Conception south to the border of Mexico. Having said that the probability of anyone else being attacked is virtually nil. There are other mitigating factors to consider when you take into account the circumstances surrounding this attack. Also, the shark moves at approx. 4 knots so tracking in the murky depths with which it s is virtually impossible anyway. I heard that some numbskulls are seeking to find and destroy the shark which is based on ignorance, it is not the sharks fault and Jaws is just a book and a scary movie, it is not based in reality. Sharks just do not hunt humans.

Please note: I am not a scientist or shark expert but I have studied them and had some converstations with Dr. John McCosker Phd. from Scripps Institute of Oceanography and widely known as the foremost expert on shark behaviour. Dr. McCosker is also the creator of Shark Week on the Discovery channel and an advisor to the Coastal Dreams Progect.
The following may be pure conjecture and is only my opinion based on what I've been told so here goes:

The victim was swimming with a group of 9 people and he was the last person in the pack. He may have appeared to be the easiest target for a shark seeking a seal for feed. There was a distressed seal on the beach at the time of the attack and a lifeguard was keeping people a safe distance from the seal. This seal may have been with a group of seals that scattered when the shark approached them leaving only the wetsuited slow humans as the only alternative. Perhaps this may have been part of the circumstances. Also, they were swimming near a lagoon which feeds to the ocean. Dr. McCosker advises to never swim or surf near a creek, rivermouth,or any area where water streams to the ocean because predators such as great whites are attracted to the effluent which pours out of them. There has been a lot of bait feeding in the area lately which may have also contributed to the situation, I don't know, as I said this pure congecture and may even be folly on my part to try and understand what happened. Maybe it was just bad luck for the victim but whites never attack hphazardly, it was just hungry and was feeding. One thing I do know is that it is aways a mistake for a shark to attack a human, they our taste.

Anyone else have any thought on this? I feel terrible that this attack occured and my thoughts and prayers are with him, his family, and his friends.

God Bless,

Tim