Two sharks spotted near Santa Barbara beaches

Those heading out to Santa Barbara beaches this weekend may want to be a bit more vigilant.

Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol Officer Karl Halamicek tells NewsChannel 3 that it has received two “credible reports” of shark sightings this week near East Beach.

The first came Thursday near the Bath House on East Beach. The shark had been previously tagged by experts and set off a shark detection device on an offshore buoy. Two years ago, experts measured this shark at nine feet long.

The second sighting came Friday afternoon just before 1 p.m.

A man was heading out for a swim when he spotted the shark straight out from Leadbetter Beach, about 20 feet from shore in waist-deep water.

The shark was described as a great white shark, “dark in color,” with the man estimating the dorsal fin to be eight to 12 inches in size and the tail to dorsal fin distance one to two feet.

The shark spotted on Friday did not set off the offshore detection device.