Portion of Huntington Beach ocean closed until Friday, 3 shark sightings over past week
A portion of the ocean in Huntington Beach will remain closed until Friday morning, after a shark was spotted feeding on a sea lion carcass at Sunset Beach yesterday. It was the third shark sighting in the area within one week.
Trevor McDonald, Huntington Beach Fire Department Marine Safety chief, said safety is a priority and "Our coastlines are monitored every day."
Last week, a 24-hour ocean closure was in place near lifeguard Tower 3 after a shark exhibited aggressive behavior toward a human. On Wednesday, there were two more shark sightings, according to McDonald.
A juvenile great white shark was seen swimming off Goldenwest Street just outside the break, prompting signs to be posted for four hours. Then, around 10 a.m., a 10-foot great white shark was spotted actively feeding on a sea lion carcass at Sunset Beach.
"When a shark has a large food source, they have the potential to be defensive of their food source," McDonald said. "They don't want that going away; they don't want to share with anybody or another animal. So that's another reason why we don't want surfers or swimmers in or around a feeding event like this one we observed."
Ocean experts say to expect more shark sightings through the summer. "It is gearing up to be a sharky summer," said Chris Lowe, the director of the Shark Lab at California State University, Long Beach.
In March, Lowe explained the water is unusually warm for the time of year, forming a "marine heat wave."
Warmer waters mean Southern California beachgoers could expect more shark sightings, but he said shark attacks are still extremely rare.
McDonald said the aggressive shark behavior on Wednesday morning prompted a 48-hour water closure one mile each direction north and south from lifeguard Tower 12 at Sunset Beach.
"We are going to continue to monitor, and if there are no additional sightings or any new news relating to shark activity in this area, the water will reopen tomorrow (Friday) at 10 a.m.," McDonald said.
A 2024 study from CSULB's Shark Lab found that sharks in the waters off the Southern California coast prefer warm, shallow waters, similar to many beachgoers.
"The optimal temperature in order to grow, to survive, we found was about 68 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit," researcher Emily Spurgeon said. She also found that juvenile great whites prefer shallow water, spending about 75% of their time in areas no more than six feet deep.
"The adults will spend more time in deeper, colder water," she said. "But these juveniles ... they are swimming where all the people also like to swim."
Lowe said the young sharks are mostly interested in eating stingrays. However, they are wild animals and will hurt someone if they feel threatened.