Chance of shark attack here slim

Marisa O’Neil

After two recent shark attacks in Florida, some are wondering about

what’s swimming in local waters.

And while it isn’t impossible for attacks to occur in the waters

off Newport Beach, it isn’t very likely, experts said. In fact, it’s

really, really unlikely, shark expert Christopher Lowe said.

“You have a better chance of being struck and killed by blue ice

falling from an airplane while surfing, than of being attacked by a

shark,” said Lowe, a biology professor at Cal State Long Beach.

“You’re more likely to be killed driving or walking to the beach than

you are to be attacked by a shark while you’re there.”

The last fatal shark attack in Southern California was some 15

years ago, he estimated. And the cause of death was debatable,

because it wasn’t clear if bite marks were made before or after the

person’s death.

Newport Beach lifeguards could not remember any local shark

attacks on a person in the past 50 years.

But that doesn’t keep people from worrying about what’s sharing

the water with them, Newport Beach lifeguard Capt. Eric Bauer said.

Those worries have increased since the recent attacks that killed a

girl and critically injured a boy in Florida.

“We’ve gotten a couple calls,” Bauer said. “Because of the shark

attacks in Florida, there’s a heightened awareness. We just remind

people that’s where the sharks live. They should be keeping their

eyes out for sharks.”

The department did send lifeguards a shark-bite memo last week,

Bauer said. The memo offered tips about how to avoid and respond to

shark bites, he said.

If someone was bitten by a shark here, lifeguards would likely

send out a boat or personal watercraft to rescue the victim, rather

than putting a lifeguard at risk, he said.

The most recent close encounter near Newport Beach came two years

ago when a dead whale floated just outside the harbor mouth. Two

great white sharks started feasting on the carcass.

Lifeguards spent five hours towing the whale 15 miles out to sea,

with the sharks taking nibbles along the way.

“That was of some concern, but they were more interested in eating

the whale carcass,” Bauer said.

Some great white sharks do prey off Southern California’s coast,

but most don’t come close to shore, Lowe said. Other sharks in local

waters include soup fin sharks, leopard sharks and smooth-hound

sharks, none of which pose a threat to humans, he said.

Most people who are attacked by sharks never see so much as a fin

before they are bitten, Lowe said. Like most predators, they employ

the element of surprise, and if they know they’ve been seen, they may

not attack.

If you do see a shark, he recommends calmly getting out of the

water -- while keeping your eye on the shark.

Experts still aren’t clear why sharks attack humans. It could be

because a shark thinks a human is food, or it may attack out of

defense.

The best thing to keep in mind is that the chances of a shark

attack are negligible, Lowe said. But people should remember that the

ocean is the shark’s home, and there’s no way to tell where they’ll

be or what they’ll do.

“We don’t understand why people do what we do, and we can talk to

each other,” Lowe said. “How do you go about finding out why a shark

does what it does?”

* MARISA O’NEIL covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (714) 966-4618 or by e-mail at marisa.oneil@latimes.com.