Comments on: Great whites off Newport Beach: photos from 2002

By: Kaila

Kaila — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 03:00:24 +0000

i think sharks are miss-understood.Sharks do not prey on people but when people are around it just happens

By: Max

Max — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:22:44 +0000

I just love how most of you take the “they were here first” and “cant everyone just get along” approach to this issue and don’t except the fact that as Humans, we must deal with unwanted predators that effect our lives. As one person correctly pointed out, rats and even snakes have been here well before us as well. Yet you wouldn’t think of simply letting it live in your home and have it cohabitating with your family. If you would, then you are the “dumb ass” as Peter puts it. What happens to a mountain lion when it comes down into a yard and walks off with a family pet, let alone a human? The animal is typically hunted down and removed or exterminated. Doesn’t the ecosystem suffer by doing this as well? Yet we do it and I don’t hear people getting up in arms when this occurs. However, if it happens in the ocean somehow it’s a different deal as most of you do not spend a lot of time there and it doesn’t affect your life. I’m not saying I’m in favor of killing all sharks here. But I am saying that there possibly needs to be action taken in light of the significant increase in recent attacks and sightings throughout So Cal. And a possible solution, as one wrote earlier, is the thinning near heavily populated coast lines when numbers of great whites have significantly increased and pose a threat.

By: Peter

Peter — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 04:26:19 +0000

You are a dumb ass if you believe that sharks do have the right to attack you if you are swimming in the ocean. You don’t go to the Sahara and walk in front of lions, or go walking along a river in Africa near croc’s! If you do and you are attacked you’re the one at fault not the animal. They are following natural instincts, besides most shark attacks are mistaken identity attacks. Lions and Crocs will kill you and consume you, as well the tiger and bull shark will, but as it has been shown White sharks don’t seem to like the way humans taste. Just because we are the most evolved species on the planet, doesn’t mean that we have the right to dominate it or destroy the other creatures on it. Sharks serve a purpose and whether you like it or not you need to respect them!

By: Chad Prescott

Chad Prescott — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 17:55:26 +0000

simple, like it or not, you go into their enviornment, they will be out there. Early morning and early evening is when they hunt the most, especially around creek or river outlets ( more for central and northern calif. both locations I surfed fopr over 15 years)

Pete Wilson banned White Shark hunting. These animals ARE needed for the good of the ocean. Without them the ecosystem, not just in SoCal, but world wide suffers. If it interfers with your recreation as one reader suggested, and we need to defend ourselfs, well then wait till they come on land to do so. Thats their world, we simply take a day pass from time to time. You see one walkin down the street, then it may be different. Until then, respect them.

By: lwps

lwps — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 10:13:55 +0000

Bury some whales, and then see what happens? Was that decided at the same meeting where they ignored the guy from Manhattan Beach whose board got munched?

Better yet, let’s just blame it all on the bleeding heart enviromentalists — is there ever a problem that can’t be pinned on them?

By: thefloyd

thefloyd — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 07:17:24 +0000

The California “Seal Lion”? Sounds like a fisherman to me. That is the most arrogant comment I have read in a long time. If we have a rogue in the area than yes we need to deal with him. But “thin them out for our recreation”? That is seriously sad priorities. I love to surf, fish, boat or just generally hang out doing anything at the beach/ocean. I love the ocean for exactly what it is. Wild and untamable. Maybe we can make a nice little bubble world for everyone that can’t be bothered by all those scary animals.

By: Joe

Joe — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 03:48:16 +0000

I sighted a whale, either gray or humpback about a mile offshore north of the Santa Ana River outlet. We were in a 38 ft sailboat heading west. The whale was running on the same course between us and the beach. This was on Saturday, April 12 around 10:45 am. I estimate it was about 40 to 45 ft long and stayed near the surface for a few minutes. Perhaps the sharks are looking for seals or whales in trouble.

By: Jen

Jen — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 02:06:54 +0000

Oh geez, fightin’ words!

By: will wallace

will wallace — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 23:46:32 +0000

Wrong! Humans are a superior species–from opposable thumbs to microchips–and we should be able to protect ourselves in any habitat. If we are just visitors in the ocean, are we also just visitor on land because the rats were here first? I’m tired of the idea that animals are “innocent,” and therefore have more (or even equal) rights to this planet.
Great whites, and many other sharks species, need to be thinned out along the Pacific Coast. They are a threat to our recreation and they compete for many food fish. If you think that is harsh, I won’t even go into what we should do with the California Seal Lion.

By: Christy

Christy — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 21:47:03 +0000

The sharks belong in the ocean, we are just visitors. I think that if you want to play in the ocean, you run the risk of being attacked. The sharks are hungry and should not be hunted and destroyed for trying to find food. We do not own the world, so why do we humans keep trying to control everything? Sharks were here long before we were. Let them be.