Surfing and swimming at Del Mar Beach have been barred since Sunday after a 46-year-old man was bitten by a shark and hospitalized.
According to the City of Del Mar, the incident occurred at approximately 9 a.m. on Sunday, about 100 yards from the shore near the Beach Safety Center on 17th Street.
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Dr. Chris Lowe from CSU Long Beach's Shark lab tells KNX News' Emily Valdez that while young sharks are an ever-present reality on the coasts of Southern California, beachgoers should not be overly alarmed by the incident.
Dr. Lowe said baby and young sharks seek refuge from predators by gathering along the shorelines, and believes they are typically so accustomed to being around humans that they largely ignore swimmers.
"We don't know whether the shark that bit the person [Sunday] was just one passing through that hasn't experienced people yet or because the water was just so murky," Lowe said.
Lowe's team has tagged nearly 300 sharks (a fraction of the actual population) and track their movement via GPS. He says that's how they know the sharks are often around humans, even if the humans do not notice.
"They probably consider humans flotsam, these floating things on the surface that aren't food and don't pose a threat, and therefore, they've learned to ignore people," he said.
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So, the incident in Del Mar was likely not a shark 'attack' but quite possibly a shark 'mistake.'
If you do ever find yourself face-to-face with a shark, Dr. Lowe shares some tips on what to do, in this video.
Sunday's victim sustained significant but nonlife-threatening wounds to his left arm and hand, as well as his torso, city officials said.
An ambulance transported the victim to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla.
The beach will remain closed through 9 a.m. Tuesday.
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