Sunny, with a chance of Great White sharks in Southern California
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - They're one of nature's most feared creatures.
“If I was face to face with a great white shark ... I’d be pretty scared," said surfer Ethan Terry of Santa Barbara.
"I mean they’re pretty scary ... they can take you out ... without trying very hard," said surfer Eric Nissen of Santa Barbara.
Known as the largest predatory fish on the planet, Great White sharks can grow up to 22 feet long, weigh more than two tons and travel the coastal waters of all thee world's oceans.
“I always have loved sharks … they’re so ecologically important … but they’re also beautiful, old fascinating, and sometimes scary which draws you ... and makes you even more intrigued by them," said shark scientist Douglas McCauley of UC Santa Barbara.
But did you know these iconic creatures are hanging out at some of Santa Barbara County's most popular beaches?
“This is Padaro Beach in Carpinteria … and is actually one of the largest juvenile white shark aggregation sights in California … due to the warmer temperatures of the water," said shark scientist Neil Nathan of UC Santa Barbara.
“You have a whole bunch of wild sharks out there doing their thing … people doing their thing … and it’s just been a story of coexistence at this beach … which is so exciting to us as shark scientists," sai McCauley.
While many are familiar with the predator because of movies like "Jaws," the legendary fish gets a bad wrap.
“Actually people are more curious about the sharks than the sharks are curious about people. So our big problem here is … making sure in fact the people don’t bother the sharks … not the other way around," said McCauley.
Researchers at UC Santa Barbara are developing a formula called Shark Eye using drones to predict where the sharks will be.
“The same way we have a forecast to tell us what weather is coming our way, we want to forecast for what kind of sharks are coming our way to share the beach just like this," said McCauley.
If the project is successful, they’re hoping you’ll be able to use an app on your phone to tell if there is a shark out there.
So you can decide if you want to go in the water.
“We also get 'now-casts' … so we text that information to folks in the community to make good safe decisions about how to share the waves with sharks," said McCauley.
“I mean they could definitely be beneficial. If the app told me they were where I was about to enter … you know I would probably think twice about it," said Nissen.
“The lifeguards the public safety officials can fly drones just like these … press a button and have the drone still tell you how many white sharks are out there and how large are they," sand Nathan.
If the project works out the way researchers hope it will, beach goers will be able to tell if the forecast is sunny, with a chance of sharks.
