{"id":309889,"date":"2026-05-26T23:47:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T23:47:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/309889\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T23:47:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T23:47:08","slug":"whats-lurking-offshore-local-experts-talk-shark-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/309889\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s lurking offshore? Local experts talk shark safety"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a teen survived a shark attack near Galveston, Coastal Bend experts and lifeguards are urging beachgoers, anglers and boaters to stay alert this summer.<\/p>\n

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas \u2014 After a recent shark attack off the coast of Galveston left a teenager injured, local lifeguards and shark experts in the Coastal Bend are reminding beachgoers and fishermen to stay alert as summer activity ramps up along the Texas coast.<\/p>\n

The teen survived the attack after his father quickly applied a tourniquet before a rescue by the U.S. Coast Guard.<\/p>\n

RELATED: Teen airlifted to Galveston trauma center after severe shark bite offshore<\/a><\/p>\n

While the incident did not happen near a beach, officials say the attack serves as a reminder that sharks are active in Gulf waters, especially during the busy summer season.<\/p>\n

\u201cBlack tip sharks. You’ll see sandbar sharks, bull sharks. We have a lot of hammerheads,\u201d said Texas State Aquarium President and CEO Jesse Gilbert. \u201cI think some of the bigger hammerheads that are caught in the Gulf are here in the Coastal Bend.\u201d<\/p>\n

City of Corpus Christi Beach Rescue officials said lifeguards are preparing for increased crowds as the summer season begins.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are fully staffed and ready to hit the beach and do all things beach safety,\u201d Beach Safety Outreach Coordinator Lacy Quinones said.<\/p>\n

Quinones said lifeguards monitor the water on Jet Skis and ask beachgoers to follow key steps if a shark is spotted.<\/p>\n

\u201cImmediately tell a lifeguard in that area,\u201d Quinones said. \u201cOur procedures require that one of our lifeguards, one of the fire department, Texas Wildlife is able to confirm an actual shark sighting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once confirmed, lifeguards will clear swimmers from the water using whistles, announcements and hand signals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat will start a two-hour monitoring procedure,\u201d Quinones said. \u201cThat two-hour clock will reset any time that that shark is again spotted.\u201d<\/p>\n

City lifeguards said they monitor waters up to 500 meters offshore. Beyond that distance, shark experts say deep-sea fishermen and boaters should use extra caution when handling large catches.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the animal’s out of water, it can’t breathe,\u201d Gilbert said. \u201cSo typically for those types of large sharks to breathe, they’re taking water in through their mouth and pushing it over the gills.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gilbert said sharks caught by anglers are often acting out of stress rather than aggression.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey’re not meaning to go after anything in particular,\u201d he said. \u201cThey’re just snapping their jaws.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gilbert encouraged shark anglers and beachgoers to practice safety first.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat you have the right tools to de-hook the animal. Some people take the barbs off so that it’s easy to come out and you release the animal back.\u201d Gilbert said. \u201cYou commonly see people taking photos, and we understand why. It’s really a unique opportunity here in the Coastal Bend and it’s a great part of living here, but you have to be mindful that those animals are still alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Corpus Christi Beach Rescue officials said they will transition to their summer schedule beginning May 30, with lifeguard towers staffed daily at McGee Beach, North Beach and Gulf Beach.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After a teen survived a shark attack near Galveston, Coastal Bend experts and lifeguards are urging beachgoers, anglers…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":309890,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[155,157,156],"class_list":["post-309889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-corpus-christi","tag-corpus-christi","tag-corpus-christi-headlines","tag-corpus-christi-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=309889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309889\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/309890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=309889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=309889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=309889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}