Point Reyes Light - August 26, 1999
Shark sighting closes Stinson Beach to swimmers
Lifeguards have closed Stinson Beach to swimmers and surfers until Aug. 28 after a great white shark 12 to 14 feet long was spotted swimming just beyond the surfline Monday afternoon.
After a report from a resident, lifeguards spotted the dorsal fin of the shark within 50 yards of the surfline, said lifeguard Pat Norton.
About 30 people who were wading, surfing, and boogie-boarding at the time were immediately ordered out of the water, Norton said. "No problem getting them out," he said, "'cause they saw what was coming their way."
Lifeguards watched the shark for 45 minutes as it swam the length of the beach clear south to Red Rock, then return in the other direction, Norton said.
A shark's dorsal fin was spotted again Tuesday afternoon for about five minutes, he added, noting that the beach may remain closed to swimming for longer if sharks continue to appear in the area.
The only recorded shark attack at Stinson Beach happened nearly a year ago to the week, when a great white bit a 16-year-old Terra Linda boy who was boogie-boarding about 50 yards offshore.
The teen received about 200 stitches during surgery, and many stuffed animals from friends afterwards, plus international media attention.
While a shark attack at Stinson Beach is a statistical rarity, great whites have a history of attacking abalone divers and surfers in the vicinity of Tomales Point on Point Reyes.
There have been 10 recorded shark attacks on the West Marin coast, and 79 in California since scientists began counting in 1952, said John McCosker, a senior scientist with the California Academy of Sciences and director of Steinhart Aquarium.
Although shark sightings along the Marin coast and at the Farallon Islands tend to increase during the late summer and autumn, it may just be that more fishermen, surfers, and other beach-goers are around the ocean at that time, McCosker said.
It is unknown whether sharks follow any migratory pattern, but schools of salmon gathering near the coast attract marine mammals, which probably bring white sharks closer to shore, he said. This year, in fact, has been a particularly bountiful year for salmon.
McCosker estimated that the population of great white sharks preying along the West Marin coast probably numbers in the dozens, and noted a 12- to 14-foot fish is not particularly large for the species. Great whites measure about four-feet long at birth and can grow up to 21 feet long.
Because great white sharks usually rise from the depths to attack their prey, the shark seen cruising the surface at Stinson Beach probably wasn't looking for food anyway, he added.