After posting a blog yesterday of a thresher shark being caught off the Huntington Beach pier, I hit up shark expert Ralph Collier with the Shark Research Committee to tell me more about the sharks’ patterns along California’s beaches.
He confirmed the shark in the photo is a thresher shark. He said they aren’t usually found in close, inshore waters - but have been known to venture close to shore while feeding on bait fish.
“There have been several Thresher Shark incidents reported to me this year, which is uncommon for this species,” he said.
He said that to date this year, there have been 45 shark-related incidents reported to the Shark Research Committee, compared with 17 for the same period in 2008.
He said it’s impossible to tell whether this is an artifact of more incidents, or simply more individuals reporting. That number also includes the number of dead pinnipeds and other marine mammals that have washed ashore.
“There might have been the same number of predatory incidents during 2008, but most were either not observed or not reported,” he wrote in an e-mail.
In case you missed it, the original blog got a ton of response, with nearly 450 people voting in a poll and about 30 people debating whether it’s right to catch such an amazing fish. Check it out.
More happenings on Orange County beaches from the Beach Blog:
Spring Fever Surfabout contest
