Officials in Huntington Beach postponed a major surf contest Thursday after spotting an aggressive 10-foot shark in the ocean. Authorities are currently monitoring the waters for the \u201call clear\u201d to reopen the area Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n
The 8th annual Vans Jack\u2019s Surfboards Pro<\/a>, a World Surf League Qualifying Series 4,000-level event, draws a large crowd of spectators and surf enthusiasts to the five-day competition and festival. <\/p>\n On Thursday, after the event ended for the day, a shark was spotted off lifeguard tower No. 3, located on the southern-most edge of the beach, said Trevor McDonald, Marine Safety Division Chief for the Huntington Beach Fire Department. <\/p>\n The species of the shark is unknown. <\/p>\n Aggressive shark behavior includes circling and charging in the water. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen you have that combination where you have a larger shark, and you observe aggressive behavior, we take precaution and implemented a 24-hour water closure,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n If officials, in partnership with the World Surf League, do not see any additional shark activity Friday, they anticipate reopening the beach at 4:30 p.m. <\/p>\n \u201cThe safety of our surfers and staff is our top priority, and in accordance with Huntington Beach City Protocol, the event will remain on hold for 24 hours,\u201d said Brian Robbins, World Surf League Tour Manager. \u201cCompetition will resume once the water safety team and local authorities confirm the competition area is clear.\u201d<\/p>\n The city\u2019s Marine Safety Division has staff on jet skis and lifeguard boats to help secure the water and montior for any more shark activity during the current closure, McDonald said. <\/p>\n \u201cWe also have drones that we\u2019ve been able to put up in the air to have an aerial view, and we\u2019re working with our Huntington Beach Police Department and their police helicopter so we can continue with monitoring the area,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n Spotting the 10-foot shark isn\u2019t a typical sighting for the local Marine Safety Division. <\/p>\n \u201cWe do sometimes see smaller juvenile sharks, and when you just have a small juvenile shark under eight feet that\u2019s not showing any type of aggressive behavior, that doesn\u2019t trigger a close like this,\u201d McDonald said. \u201cWe only have the closures triggered when we see above eight feet combined with that aggressive behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n The next call for surfers in the competition will be Saturday at 6:30 a.m., with a possible 7 a.m. start.<\/p>\n This recent shark sighting is on par with what Long Beach Shark Lab Director Chris Lowe predicted would be a \u201cvery sharky summer,\u201d<\/a> caused by a shift in warmer temperatures that start much earlier in the year. <\/p>\n In March, an 8-foot great white was spotted circling a surfer in Newport Beach, which prompted an immediate shutdown of the shoreline. <\/p>\n