Spectators look on as a great white thrashes back and forth just below the San Clemente pier.
A local fisherman bit off more than he could chew Monday morning after hooking up with a juvenile great white shark while fishing off the San Clemente pier. The incident took place just a few feet from where several surfers were enjoying the fruits of a recent flurry of swell. A small crowd gathered on the pier to watch the six-foot great white thrashing back and forth, trying to evade its captor.
Penny Novak, a San Clemente woman who was walking on the pier with her family, shared the rare sighting with NBC LA.
“When we looked over the edge, there it was. Its head was fully out of the water, its mouth was open. It was just like something out of a movie,” Novak said. “Then finally, it went under the water for a little bit. We all thought maybe it died, and then all of the sudden it came back up and we heard like a big, loud crunch, and then it like moved around a little bit and broke free and then took off.”
It’s not entirely uncommon to see juveniles in this area, but it is quite unusual to see them during this time of year. And experts are saying El Niño might be to blame for the surprise visit. According to Professor Chris Lowe, director of the Cal State Long Beach shark lab, juveniles typically head to the warmer waters off Mexico this time of year. Thanks to unseasonably warm waters off the coast of California (attributable to El Niño), juveniles are opting out of the trek south and choosing to stick around Southern California.
In 2015, there were more than a dozen great white encounters, which prompted several beach closures from Seal Beach to San Clemente alone. Last November, a San Clemente teen diver reportedly fended off an aggressive great white that repeatedly charged him. While juveniles have been said to pose no real threat to surfers and swimmers, you are asked to always exercise caution. If you see one it’s always best to exit the water and notify lifeguards.
