Yet another dramatic shark encounter has unfolded along Southern California’s coastline, this time at Sunset Beach in Los Angeles, where a fisherman reeled in a juvenile shark (possibly a great white) estimated to be about 8 feet long.
Video circulating online shows the unnamed angler standing on the sand beside the exhausted shark as a crowd gathers to watch. In a tense series of events, the fisherman carefully works to remove the hook, at one point placing his hands inside the shark’s mouth before finally dragging the animal back into the surf.
According to eyewitness reports, “the shark swam off into Santa Monica Bay and was not seen again,” suggesting it survived the encounter.
The incident comes amid what marine scientists have described as an especially active shark season along the Southern California coast.
“We’re expecting a very sharky summer,” said Dr. Chris Lowe, director of the Shark Lab at California State University, Long Beach, who has attributed the increase in juvenile great white sightings to unusually warm ocean temperatures associated with El Niño. The warmer water creates ideal nursery habitat close to shore, where young great whites can feed on stingrays and other prey while avoiding larger predators.
It’s also not the first time this summer that beachgoers have witnessed an impromptu shark rescue.
Related: Great White Shark Hooked off Hermosa Beach Pier (Video)
Back in April, in nearby Hermosa Beach, 20-year-old angler Kevin Phan landed a juvenile great white shark before stripping down to his underwear and carrying the animal back into the water. The unusual act earned widespread praise online, with many applauding the young fisherman for helping give the shark another chance at survival.
Meanwhile, shark sightings have continued to pile up across the Golden State. Drone footage recently captured a juvenile great white breaching behind a boogieboarder in Newport Beach, and drone footage showed a shark stalking unsuspecting kids swimming.
For experts, none of it is particularly surprising.
SoCal’s coastline has become a seasonal nursery for juvenile great whites, making encounters more common than ever. While seeing an 8-foot shark hauled onto the beach may be startling, scientists continue to stress that attacks remain exceedingly rare—and that these young predators are typically far more interested in fish and rays than people.
Related: Juvenile Great White Shark Launches Behind Bodyboarder in Newport Beach (Video)
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