A bloodied sea lion is the second sign of shark activity in San Luis Obispo County in the past week.
Shark notices were posted Wednesday morning at Port San Luis because of a suspected shark attack on a sea lion, cautioning beach-goers to be aware. No beaches will be closed.
Eric Endersby, the Harbor Operations Director for Morro Bay, said a credible shark sighting was filed Monday by two surfers in Cayucos of a 8-10 foot shark. Signs were also posted at Morro Bay, Montana De Oro and Cayucos on Monday.
The sea lion was sighted at the sport docks in Port San Luis around 7 a.m. Wednesday, said Greg Weisberg, Chief Harbor Patrol Officer at Port San Luis.
No one saw the shark that attacked the sea lion and despite a press release by Cal Fire and reports by other news agencies that the shark was 15 feet in length, the size of the shark is unknown. Weisberg said that he could not confirm the size of the shark but that the bite was fairly large.
The sea lion survived the attack so it is unclear where the animal was bitten. Weisberg said the still-bleeding sea lion has been in and out of the water all day. He added that harbor patrol did call the Marine Mammal Center to help the sea lion but the center’s staff had not arrived by the time Port San Luis Harbor Patrol had left.
Reports of sharks are followed up by the harbor patrol to make sure the sighting was of a shark and not some other sea creature.
“Attacks are very rare,” said Endersby, “but sightings are fairly common, especially in the late summer and early fall.”
Endersby said after the fatal attack in Avila in 2003, people have reported shark sightings more often.
The 2003 attack was the last one in the area, said Endersby, adding that the one before that was in the 1970s.
Anyone in the water is at risk, he said. “You’re in the wild.”
The last two victims of a shark attack in the area have been swimmers. Endersby said that sharks have a huge territory and that they don’t normally travel in pairs or groups.
Local experts agree on some basic precautions that beach-goers can take to keep safe.
Tim Cowin, part owner of Morro Bay Surf Company, said the best way to avoid sharks is to pay attention to the beach postings.
Another important sign to watch for is other feeding activity in the area such as groups of birds diving and large groups of sea lions and dolphins in concentrated areas.
John Thomas of Central Coast Surfboards said that he has seen sharks at Montana De Oro State Park and near the Morro Bay rock.
“There’s not a whole lot you can do,” he said. “If they want to be invisible, they’ll be invisible.”
Thomas’ only advice: “Don’t get eaten.”