More Great Whites this year?

[Mr. NiceGuy]

Have there been more than usual Great White Sharks around La Jolla this year?

It's hard to guess by what the so-called "news" reports, so I thought the best measure of this would be from kayak fishermen.

A GW washed up in Carlsbad 2 days ago:
https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Dead-Great-White-Shark-Washed-Ashore-in-Carlsbad-State-Beach-512713311.html

This report out of San Francisco reporting a "Large Number of Great White Sharks Off California Coast" is what promps my question:
https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2019/07/17/large-number-great-white-sharks-california-coast-monterey/


More than usual, or the same typical number of random sightings?

[DanaPT]

Pretty sure they are always there.

Just depends on the minister of propaganda and what they want people to be distracted by.

Fish-on !

[Tomol]

I was told by a commercial lobster guy 15 years ago that if the general public knew how many enormous sharks he saw swimming around close to shore, nobody would ever go swimming again.

Drone footage is everywhere now, and anyone with a phone can shoot broadcast-worthy footage for TV news filler. Add to that our increasing appetite for lurid video, and more "reports" are inevitable.

All that said, the near shore gillnet ban, which lets more juveniles survive, and the exploding population of seals and sea lions, the favored prey of adults, means there will inevitably be more sharks.

We are having more encounters in the dive community, but it’s hard to tell if that’s because there are more sharks or more divers.

[RK]

BINGO!!!


I was told by a commercial lobster guy 15 years ago that if the general public knew how many enormous sharks he saw swimming around close to shore, nobody would ever go swimming again.

Drone footage is everywhere now, and anyone with a phone can shoot broadcast-worthy footage for TV news filler. Add to that our increasing appetite for lurid video, and more "reports" are inevitable.

All that said, the near shore gillnet ban, which lets more juveniles survive, and the exploding population of seals and sea lions, the favored prey of adults, means there will inevitably be more sharks.

We are having more encounters in the dive community, but it’s hard to tell if that’s because there are more sharks or more divers.

[jorluivil]

Wait, there are sharks in the ocean?

[skrilla]

It's shark week. Next week is national tequila day. I'll be on the beach waiting for drinks to wash up.

[FISH11]

Can't wait for next week, ha ha!

[PapaDave]

Let's not forget that they are protected and these are possibly the juveniles as a result of a comeback for the species. Now if only we could train them to get more seals.