{"id":406376,"date":"2026-05-01T07:59:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T07:59:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/406376\/"},"modified":"2026-05-01T07:59:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T07:59:15","slug":"a-very-sharky-summer-is-likely-in-store-for-california-experts-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/406376\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018A very sharky summer\u2019 is likely in store for California, experts say"},"content":{"rendered":"

After multiple beach closures in Orange County and a new uptick in shark sightings along the California coast this spring, experts are warning we may be in store for \u201ca very sharky summer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re having an unusual early marine heat wave right now in Southern California,\u201d said Dr. Lowe, marine biology professor and director of CSU Long Beach\u2019s Shark Lab. \u201cA lot of sharks are showing up earlier than they normally would, because the water\u2019s warmer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Along with the early arrival of warmer conditions, Dr. Lowe noted that the white shark population has also been increasing over the past 20 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s probably going to be a very sharky summer\u2026 and we\u2019re getting within what we call the sweet spot for their favorite temperature,\u201d Dr. Lowe told KTLA\u2019s Omar Lewis. \u201cPeople should always assume anytime they\u2019re in the water, a white shark could be nearby.\u201d<\/p>\n

This belief has rung true for a handful of Southern Californians in the past few months. In March, an 8-foot great white<\/a> was seen circling a surfer in Newport Beach; days later, a fisherman conducted a dramatic rescue<\/a> of a hooked juvenile great white near the Hermosa Beach Pier.<\/p>\n

In the past week alone, two sightings of \u201caggressive\u201d great white sharks<\/a> prompted beach closures in Huntington Beach, in one case closing down a surf competition<\/a> for a day. Most recently, a shark was caught on video<\/a> chasing a hydrofoiler off the Santa Barbara County coastline on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\"Santa<\/p>\n

Two men hydrofoiling off the Santa Barbara County coast encountered a shark that continued to follow one of them for at least five minutes on April 25, 2026. (IG @Bigwavetav)<\/p>\n

\"Santa<\/p>\n

Two men hydrofoiling off the Santa Barbara County coast encountered a shark that continued to follow one of them for at least five minutes on April 25, 2026. (IG @Bigwavetav)<\/p>\n

\"Santa<\/p>\n

Two men hydrofoiling off the Santa Barbara County coast encountered a shark that continued to follow one of them for at least five minutes on April 25, 2026. (IG @Bigwavetav)<\/p>\n

\"Santa<\/p>\n

Two men hydrofoiling off the Santa Barbara County coast encountered a shark that continued to follow one of them for at least five minutes on April 25, 2026. (IG @Bigwavetav)<\/p>\n

\"Santa<\/p>\n

Two men hydrofoiling off the Santa Barbara County coast encountered a shark that continued to follow one of them for at least five minutes on April 25, 2026. (IG @Bigwavetav)<\/p>\n

\"Santa<\/p>\n

Two men hydrofoiling off the Santa Barbara County coast encountered a shark that continued to follow one of them for at least five minutes on April 25, 2026. (IG @Bigwavetav)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe good news is, our data shows that even when white sharks are around, they tend to ignore people,\u201d Dr. Lowe pointed out. In addition, researchers have found that juvenile great white sharks (which are most commonly spotted in Southern California) tend to feed on fish and rays, not humans.<\/p>\n

While sharks might ignore people, however, people certainly do not ignore sharks.<\/p>\n

Along the Southern California coast, officials routinely monitor for shark activity and will clear the water or issue temporary closures when a shark is spotted behaving unpredictably or feeding near shore, which is what just happened in Huntington Beach.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday morning, a 9-to-10-foot great white shark was seen \u201cactively feeding\u201d on a sea lion carcass in the surf line, which, according to Huntington Beach Lifeguards, increases the risk of danger to humans due to the large size of the food source.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe feeding part is concerning because great white sharks, when they\u2019re feeding on a large food source like that, they can be defensive of that food source,\u201d said HBFD Marine Safety Division Chief Trevor McDonald. \u201cAnd so they can say hey, look, they don\u2019t want anybody coming near that food source. With that, we don\u2019t want any of our beachgoers or anybody from our community putting themselves in that situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Great<\/p>\n

In this Aug. 11, 2016, photo, a great white shark swims past researchers as they chum the ocean looking for sharks in the waters off Gansbaai, South Africa. Extensive research by shark expert Michael Rutzen and his marine biologist partner Sara Andreotti has found that great whites off the South African coast are rapidly heading for extinction. (AP Photo\/Schalk van Zuydam)<\/p>\n

\"Sunset<\/p>\n

Sky5 was over Huntington Beach\u2019s Sunset Beach after a great white shark sighting closed the waters on Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (KTLA)<\/p>\n

\"Aerial<\/p>\n

Lifeguards patrol the waters and surfers remain in the lineup near the Huntington Beach Pier following a reported shark sighting that prompted closures. April 2026. (KTLA)<\/p>\n

\"Aerial<\/p>\n

Lifeguards patrol the waters and surfers remain in the lineup near the Huntington Beach Pier following a reported shark sighting that prompted closures. April 2026. (KTLA)<\/p>\n

\"Man<\/p>\n

A fisherman wades into the surf to free a juvenile great white shark caught on a fishing line near Hermosa Beach Pier on April 1, 2026. (Alexandra Garry)<\/p>\n

\"Man<\/p>\n

A fisherman wades into the surf to free a juvenile great white shark caught on a fishing line near Hermosa Beach Pier on April 1, 2026. (Alexandra Garry)<\/p>\n

\"Fisherman<\/p>\n

A fisherman wades into the surf to free a juvenile great white shark caught on a fishing line near Hermosa Beach Pier on April 1, 2026. (Alexandra Garry)<\/p>\n

\"Man<\/p>\n

A fisherman wades into the surf to free a juvenile great white shark caught on a fishing line near Hermosa Beach Pier on April 1, 2026. (Alexandra Garry)<\/p>\n

Between the proximity to shore and the \u201caggressive\u201d behavior, officials were quick to issue safety protocols to protect beachgoers.<\/p>\n

Those protocols typically include clearing the water and issuing temporary closures, sometimes stretching a mile in each direction, to keep swimmers at a safe distance while sharks pass through.<\/p>\n

So, while this may be shaping up to be a \u201cvery sharky summer,\u201d experts say it\u2019s less about danger and more about awareness \u2014 and learning to share the water safely.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After multiple beach closures in Orange County and a new uptick in shark sightings along the California coast…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":406377,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[209276,209275,208962,111,139,69,16937,147,145986,131872,79616,209277,55526,406],"class_list":["post-406376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-dr-lowe","tag-hermosa-beach-pier","tag-huntington-beach","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-santa-barbara-county","tag-science","tag-shark-sighting","tag-shark-sightings","tag-southern-california","tag-trevor-mcdonald","tag-white-shark","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=406376"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406376\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/406377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=406376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=406376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=406376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}