Sharks concern few

As temperatures sizzle to summer levels, people are flocking to the beach in Newport, but few are worried about shark attacks, local lifeguards said Tuesday.

Capt. Mitch White, a Newport Beach lifeguard for 33 years, said he has fielded a few concerned telephone calls after a 66-year-old triathlete died Friday after a shark attack at Solana Beach near San Diego, but for the most part, it’s business as usual at local beaches.

“We do have a lot of oceanfront property, so we have had some shark sighting over the years,” White said, “We get the occasional small ones that are sick or disoriented, but other than that, we don’t really have any interactions with them.”

Authorities believe the shark involved in the Solana Beach attack was about a 15-foot-long great white shark. The last memorable sighting of a great white shark near Newport was about six or seven years ago, White said, when a dead whale carcass drew sharks nearby.

Most local sightings since then have been dolphins, White said.

“It’s very rare to see them because we have sandy bottom beaches,” he said. “There isn’t a lot of the so-called food that the big guys would be eating, so we don’t see them.”

Surf and sun lovers flocked to the beach near Newport Pier Tuesday, undaunted by the possibility, no matter how small, of shark attacks.

“I haven’t heard anyone say they are worried about it,” said Costa Mesa resident Cody Schuering as he worked on his tan near the pier Tuesday.

Schuering, on his day off from working the counter and grill at the Pipeline snack stand near the pier, said he has never heard of shark sightings from customers or coworkers.

“I’ve seen little-bitty ones around here, but that’s it,” he said, measuring with his hands an imaginary shark no bigger than the frozen bananas served at the Pipeline.

Rachel Hourtal, a Lake Elsinore resident, drove to Newport Beach Tuesday with her two sons, ages 3 and 2. They frequent the beach during the summer months and never think about sharks, she said.

“I just don’t swim out past the buoys,” Hourtal said, shrugging as her children played nearby in the sand.

Hourtal said she keeps a close eye on her children in the water, but wasn’t concerned about sharks, despite hearing news reports of the recent shark attack.

Crystal Cove State Park lifeguards have gotten a few questions on sharks from concerned beach goers in the past week, said Paul Milosch, Crystal Cove’s lifeguard supervisor.

Milosch, who has worked at the park for about two years, said he has never seen or heard any reports of sharks anywhere near the park, but where there is ocean, there is bound to be sharks.

“All I can say is that if you go to the woods, there’s probably bears there, and if you go to the ocean, there is probably going to be sharks,” he said.

Shark attacks are exceedingly rare, according to the California Department of Fish and Game. There have been only 95 great white shark attacks on humans in California since the 1950s, according to the department, and only 11 or 12 have been fatal.

Shark attacks are even more rare in Southern California. Only 20 attacks have been recorded south of Point Conception in Santa Barbara County in the past 57 years. The last recorded great white shark attack in Orange County was in 1985 at Seal Beach, according to Department of Fish and Game records. The injuries were minor, records show.

The only way to avoid a shark attack is to stay out of the water, according to experts, but there are a few things beachgoers can do to prevent an encounter with a shark. Swimmers should avoid areas frequented by marine mammals such as sea lions, which are sources of food for some sharks, according to Carrie Wilson, an associate marine biologist for the Department of Fish and Game.

In addition, Wilson said, wearing scuba diving gear like wetsuits and fins or laying prone on a surf board can lead to a case of mistaken identity. Foggy mornings and dusk create conditions ripe for shark attacks because the animals often mistake people for food when there is little sunlight.

Great white sharks are most commonly associated with shark attacks. Other species of sharks or dolphins are commonly mistaken for great white sharks. Here’s how to spot a great white:

 If the shark is longer than 15 feet and spotted off the coast of California, chances are it’s a great white.

 Great white sharks have heavy, spindle-shaped bodies with conical snouts.

 If it’s a great white shark, the upper part of the animal will be a darker color in stark contrast to its white underside.

 Great white’s pectoral fins have a white trailing edge with black tips on the underside.

 Great whites also have large, triangular serrated teeth.

Source: California Department of Fish and Game

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at brianna.bailey@latimes.com.