MOSS LANDING, Calif. -- How Safe Are You Swimming in the Water with Sharks? It's the time-of-year when sharks move up and down the Central Coast looking for food. Marine experts explain why sharks are coming in so close, and the kind of danger you're in when you see a shark fin.
David Ebert was born and raised right here on the Central Coast and knows all about sharks. "Usually when they attack they come and hit the victim with no warning. The shark may be coming but you wont see it before it hits generally," said Ebert.
Ebert scuba dives and kayaks in the Monterey Bay, but his main passion for the past 30 years is studying sharks. He says most of the time sharks bite, its out of curiosity. "They go up there and since they don't have hands to pick up and manipulate things like we do they use their jaws, they're teeth. They'll come up and bite things sometimes," said Ebert.
Ebert works at the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, He said that's exactly what he thought when he heard about the great white shark that took a bite out of a man's kayak at pleasure point on Saturday, throwing the man into the water.
The man was able to escape an attack, but Ebert says if you're in the water and see a shark fin you're probably ok. "You can never predict generally when a shark is going to attack because usually it's the one you don't see is the one that's going to attack. Usually if you see it finning at the surface, he's more in an investigatory mood or just cruising by," said Ebert.
He says it doesn't matter how close to stay to shore. "It's not uncommon. If you think well maybe I should stay closer to the shore, actually they hunt right in the surf," said Ebert.
Many beach-goers we spoke with say they're still likely to go in the water, even after great white shark sightings.
