According to a shark researcher, the population of great white sharks off California is growing. New information is surfacing after a 31-year-old boogie boarder was murdered in a suspected Great white shark attack in Morro Bay on Friday.
- “The circumstances were terrible, but we were just like, whatever, let’s go play and have some fun,” said Rebecca Frimmer, a Morro Bay resident.
- Frimmer was surfing near the boulder at The Pit on Friday morning when she came upon a bright blue boogie board in the water.
- “It was just a precautionary measure,” Morro Bay Harbor Director Eric Endersby remarked.
- According to Endersby, the boogie boarder was wearing fins and a full wetsuit when attacked by a Great white shark.
- According to Lowe, despite the presence of more white sharks and people in the water, bites have not increased.
- A tragic shark attack took place near Avila Beach, San Luis Obispo County, in 2003.
- “The coroner’s office has yet to announce the identity of the boogie border:
- A Great white shark attacked a Cal Poly student near Montana de Oro’s Sandspit Beach in 2019.
“The circumstances were terrible, but we were just like, whatever, let’s go play and have some fun,” said Rebecca Frimmer, a Morro Bay resident. Frimmer was surfing near the boulder at The Pit on Friday morning when she came upon a bright blue boogie board in the water.
When the wave broke, and the tide drove the board further in, it kept snapping back, so I concluded they connected something to it. My goal was that if someone was drowning, I could save them, or if there was trash in the river, I could remove it.
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Frimmer claims she seized the board and began to drag it back to shore:
“I paddled and pulled until I could put my feet down, and then I was able to pull the board closer to me, and I saw his feet and flippers and began to pull him in, thinking I could be doing CPR on top of my board,” Frimmer explained. “Once I saw the scope of his injury issues, and he had already passed, it was undeniable this was way too late.”
She claims she flagged down the first individuals she saw and instructed them to dial 911. The water was restricted to all surfers and swimmers for 24 hours, but the harbor director said the signs warning people not to enter the sea at their own risk will stay up until the weekend.
“It was just a precautionary measure,” Morro Bay Harbor Director Eric Endersby remarked. According to Endersby, the boogie boarder was wearing fins and a full wetsuit when attacked by a Great white shark.
Dr. Chris Lowe, Professor of Marine Biology and Director of the shark attack Lab at Cal State Long Beach, said, “At this time of year, white sharks are practically the only species that can maintain those water temperatures and do that sort of damage.”
Experts think the population is growing off the California coast:
“We’re starting to see more northern elephant sea rookeries down on the southern area of the Central California Coast,” Dr. Lowe says, adding that “that’s a new hunting habitat for adult white sharks.”
Dr. Lowe claims that despite more white sharks and people in the water, bites have not increased. Dr. Lowe continued, “We do have to remind folks how unusual it is.” In 2003, a deadly shark attack occurred in Avila Beach, San Luis Obispo County.
“The whole affair has stunned and saddened us all.” Endersby expressed his condolences to the victim’s family and friends. “My goal is that any surfer out there would have done the same thing,” Frimmer stated.
The coroner’s office has not yet released the identity of the boogie boarder:
Near Montana de Oro’s Sandspit Beach in 2019, a Cal Poly student was the victim of a shark attack. In 2015, a surfer was attacked by sharks at Morro Strand State Beach. Another surfer was bitten the year before while surfing near Sandspit.
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