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Posted by yak slam on 17:24:30 08/22/03
In Reply to: La Jolla Water Clarity? posted by yak slam
Check this out. Story from the LA Times. I think La Jolla might be a better call after reading this.
Meanwhile, in Southern California
If you're a surfer planning a trip to San Onofre State Beach, you might want to know that there has been at least one large great white "camped out" just south of the nuclear generating plant, according to Michael Domeier, president of the Pfleger Institute of Environmental Research and a prominent white shark researcher.
Domeier this week positively identified the animal based on aerial photographs provided by the U.S. Marine Corps.
They were taken by members of a helicopter unit, who saw five smaller sharks July 21 and since have seen as many as two much larger sharks every few days, as close as 100 yards from the beach.
"After talking with the other pilots, we believe the big sharks we saw were 15 to 17 feet," said Maj. James E. Fox Jr., an officer stationed at Camp Pendleton. "I saw them personally five times, but recently there has been only one."
Domeier, whose organization has been involved in a long-term white shark tagging study at Guadalupe Island off Baja California, said he has wrestled with his conscience for days over what to do with the information and has been considering issuing a news release announcing the frequent presence of the shark.
"I didn't want to be perceived as the person to strike the fear of God into everybody out in the water," he said.
In an e-mail sent Wednesday to Fox and copied to The Times, Domeier wrote, "After [Tuesday's] fatal shark attack I was wondering if we should put out a press release about the presence of the shark off San Onofre.
"If you had seen it only one day I would not have bothered, but your guys have seen it regularly for three weeks now. Perhaps people should know about it and let them decide if they REALLY want to go surfing at Trestles!"
Trestles is a good jog up the coast. There are several popular surf spots closer to the generating plant, the closest being accessible by Trail One at the southern end of the state beach.
"One of our [lifeguards] has spotted a shark more than once at Trail One, just south of the power plant, but he thought it was a mako shark," lifeguard supervisor Joe Layng said.
Layng was unfazed when told it might be a great white.
"Those things aren't going to bother us," he said. "No one's complained. There's no hysteria and no one jumping and screaming, 'Sharks!' "
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