California great white shark expert reveals summer…
A surge in shark sightings has terrified Southern California beach-goers this summer, but a legendary shark tracker says swimmers can breathe simple.
The thought that local seashores are all of a sudden infested with bloodthirsty man-eating great whites is whole “garbage,” according to veteran shark tracer Keith Poe, who has logged more than 33 years monitoring one of the ocean’s deadliest apex predators.
A sequence of jaw-dropping shark sightings off the coast, including a great white leaping instantly out of the water behind and unsuspecting surfer, has people on high-alert.
While frantic vacationers and locals would possibly suppose 2026 is popping into a real-life Jaws film along the Golden State coast, Poe told The Post the dramatic uptick in sightings comes down to basic science. Instagram/@sharktagger
When coastal waters plunge below 60 levels in the winter, younger Great Whites — outlined as juveniles up to 10 ft long — go south toward Mexico. Instagram/@sharktagger
While frantic vacationers and locals would possibly suppose 2026 is popping into a real-life Jaws film along the Golden State coast, Poe told The Post the dramatic uptick in sightings comes down to basic science as rising temperatures and an underwater buffet attracts them in.
“Here’s the way it works,” Poe revealed. “From San Diego to Point Conception, all of that area is primarily known as a juvenile white shark area, and the ones that move in close to the beach are governed by two things: temperature and food.”
Veteran shark tracker Keith Poe has logged more than 33 years monitoring one of the ocean’s deadliest apex predators. Facebook/@keith.poe2
As great whites grow, their tooth, our bodies, and appetites modifications, permitting them to graduate from fish to searching a lot larger meals with high-blubber. Facebook/@keith.poe2
But there are purple flags that beachgoers shouldn’t ignore. Facebook/@keith.poe2
When coastal waters plunge below 60 levels in the winter, younger Great Whites — outlined as juveniles up to 10 ft long — go south toward Mexico because their our bodies can’t deal with the frigid chill. Currently, as waters heat and El Niño situations cook the coast, those juveniles swim north into shallow, sandy SoCal bays like Santa Monica.
Their goal is straightforward prey on the ocean flooring, like halibut, skates, and rays proper off the shoreline. “These are fish-eating juveniles,” Poe insisted. “They could care less about people. There is no danger. They’re there for only one reason: food.”
But there are purple flags that beachgoers shouldn’t ignore. Swimmers ought to suppose twice about getting into the water if seals or sea lions are congregating close by and birds are diving around them, Poe said, as those are indicators of a feeding frenzy that might entice larger predators.
“If there’s marine mammals in the area, birds diving, eating food, that’s not an area you want to go hang out in,” Poe warned.
As great whites grow, their tooth, our bodies, and appetites modifications, permitting them to graduate from fish to searching a lot larger meals with high-blubber.
“If there’s marine mammals in the area, birds diving, eating food, that’s not an area you want to go hang out in,” Poe warned. Facebook/@keith.poe2
Poe pointed to areas farther north around Point Conception, San Miguel Island and San Simeon as websites where heavyweight predators are more probably to congregate, close to stretches of the coast where sea lions and seals pile onto the shore. Facebook/@keith.poe2
Female great whites take roughly 30 years to mature, Poe said, which means sharks born many years in the past as protections took impact many years in the past are only now reaching maturity. Facebook/@keith.poe2
Poe pointed to areas farther north around Point Conception, San Miguel Island and San Simeon as websites where heavyweight predators are more probably to congregate, close to stretches of the coast where sea lions and seals pile onto the shore.
While terrified swimmers are recognizing more and more single fins in the water, Poe says that they’re not on the market stalking sunbathers, but that the great white shark population has considerably elevated. Poe, who participated in National Geographic’s “Counting Jaws,” said research has documented a major rebound in white sharks off California. He credit many years of protections and the decline of business gill nets that have traditionally killed sharks as bycatch.
Before restrictions had been launched, Poe said fishing nets close to the shoreline decimated populations of juvenile sharks. “Once they got rid of those from three miles out, they started to make a come back,” he said.
Female great whites take roughly 30 years to mature, Poe said, which means sharks born many years in the past as protections took impact many years in the past are only now reaching maturity.
More sharks don’t routinely imply more shark assaults, though.
“Incidents involving a shark biting a person are very rare in California and in most cases not believed to be predatory attempts, but rather the result of exploratory bites from sharks investigating unusual objects in their environment, such as kayaks, or the result of a shark mistaking a person for their usual prey,” wrote the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
“There is no magic thing that’s brought a whole monster bunch of sharks in here all of a sudden, and everybody’s in great dangers,” Poe added. “That that’s laughable to me.”
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