The Dorsal Fin

Fox 5 San Diego is reporting that two SCUBA divers had an encounter with what was described as a “5-foot great white shark” off La Jolla Cove, last week. Lifeguards did not consider the presence of the animal to be a threat to swimmers, due to the fact that it was spotted “500 yards” from shore and was a relatively small shark. A 5-foot white shark would almost certainly be a juvenile specimen.

It should be noted that the species of shark shown in the first clip of stock footage in the Fox 5 report is not actually a great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias). The shark seen in the first clip is sand tiger shark (Carcharias taurus), which are not native to California waters.

The reported sighting of a great white shark off of La Jolla is not particularly uncommon, but lifeguard Lt. John Everhart told Fox 5 that often times that sightings of other species such as dolphins or sea lions are misreported as shark sightings, by “people that aren’t used to the area or the ocean.” However, Everhart did not seem to indicate that that he felt that this particular incident was a case of mistaken identity.

Fox 5/69 San Diego is reporting that lifeguards have issued a warning to swimmers and surfers after a large shark was spotted in close proximity to swimmers. Reporters are referring to the shark spotted as a white shark. The warning applies to the coastline from rom La Jolla Cove to Scripps Pier and will remain in effect until tomorrow, provided no more additional sightings are reported.

Lifeguards have not closed any beaches, but advise swimmers not to venture out in the water alone and to avoid early morning and late evening swimming.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald a swimming ban has been imposed at beaches on the Riviera by French officials, after multiple witnesses reported seeing a 2m shark. The swimming ban applies to beaches at Cagnes-sur-Mer, Villeneuve-Loubet and Saint-Laurent-du-Var.

The head of public safety for the town of Cagnes-sur-Mer, Michel Gagnaire, said that the shark was spotted approximately 70m from shore. Gagnaire went on to speculate that the shark might be “disoriented due to illness or a wound and therefore more likely to attack swimmers.”

According to the International Shark Attack File, there have only been four unprovoked shark attacks recorded in French waters, since 1847. The Sydney Morning Herald report notes that last July a French Mediterranean beach was closed after a “shark” was reportedly sighted. Authorities later discovered that the animal sighted was actually a Mola mola (also known as an ocean sunfish).

According to the Cape Cod Times, a 15′ (4.5m) great white shark was spotted “chasing seals into shallow water” south of Nauset Beach in Orleans, Massachusetts on Sunday (July 11). Chatham Harbor Master Stuart Smith reported seeing the shark “chase seals into breaking surf, trap them against the shore and then attack them.” The sighting did not result in any beach closures in the area.

A spokesperson for the Massachusetts Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs encouraged potential beach-goers to be aware of the presence of the sharks and to avoid swimming in areas populated by seals. The spokesperson suggested not to change plans about going to beach as a result of the sighting and noted that white sharks have been sighted in the region for hundreds of years.

The Cape Cod Times reports that the last recorded fatal shark attack in Massachusetts was in 1936.

CapeCast interviewed beach-goers about the sighting, which can be seen in the video of above.

Leave it to the media to turn an estimated 4m (13.1′) shark into a “MONSTER SHARK!!!” According to The Manly Daily, a “monster” shark was spotted at Avalon (NSW, Australia) on Sunday. (In case you were wondering, the Manly Daily is not a periodical for Sylvester Stallone fans. Manly is actually a suburb of Sydney, Australia.) Several surfers spotted the shark at the same time, which witnessed placed being within 5m (16.4′) of some of the surfers. Volunteer lifesaver, Kurt Magnus, was packing up for the day, when the surfers alerted him of the shark sighting, which prompted Magnus to sound the shark alarm and clear the water. There were no further incidents between the shark and any bathers or surfers.

While the shark is designated a “Monster Shark” in the report’s headline, the article also goes on to refer to it as a “mammoth shark,” as well. I’m not sure if this implies that mammoths are also monsters or not, although I’m guessing monsters sell more newspapers the mammoths.