Posted on 06/17/2015 6:20:18 PM PDT by nickcarraway
When lifeguards at a popular Southern California surfing spot decided to use a high-tech drone to keep swimmers safe from shark attacks, they got a chilling eyeful.
The drone flies up about a 100 feet, looks down at a wide area and when they see shadows they can focus on them. In a matter of minutes the lifeguards can see just how many sharks may be lurking just yards from the shoreline.
“This morning, we launched it and 10 minutes later, we knew there were 10 to 12 sharks in the Surfside [Beach] area,” said Chief Joe Bailey, a Seal Beach lifeguard.
A dozen sharks may sound scary, but Bailey hasn’t closed the beach.
“If we get bigger sharks or we get sharks that are aggressive, we are going to close the water. But right now, we have only seen sharks that are 5 to 6-feet long, non-aggressive, acting like normal sharks, feeding on bottom fish, doing exactly what we would expect them to do,” he said. Bailey said he has flown the drone regularly for the past month.
On Monday morning, the drone recorded video of a juvenile great white in waist-high water at Surfside. Fortunately, no swimmers were in the water at the time.
Surfside is going to remain open to the public, but authorities have started posting signs warning beach-goers the sharks are out there.
Some of locals aren’t taking any chances.
“I was planning on going surfing tomorrow and definitely not now,” said one woman. “Sharks are kind of like my biggest fear so that’s like very daunting for me,” said another.
O.M.G.
There are sharks in ocean water.
Global Warming, increasing the coastal areas is dangerous.
Awright!! I wanna know who put them sharks in there. Somebody knows something about this.
We’re gonna need a bigger boat.
Interesting that we have had recent shark attacks with the 40th anniversary of Jaws coming up.
Leave orbit and nuke them from space. If we happen to take out San Francisco, Oakland and La, so much the better.
“Glowing Sharkanado IV”, coming to a street near you soon.
"Ceterum censeo 0bama esse delendam."
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
My words were satire, it is the pictures that show what 'I believe'.
I doubt the attacks have anything to do with the movie, but more to do with the migration and feeding habits of sharks.
That they are big news at the moment is more likely due to the Jaws Anniversary (and aren't they releasing a remastered version of the film soon?).
While we're on the subject, I was surfing at night by the lights of the Huntington Beach pier years ago when something came up in front of me. The air was well lit but the water dark so it scared the crap out of me. It was a diver. He pulled his mask off and told me I was nuts. When I asked him why he said if I could see how many sharks were down just underneath me I wouldn't be sitting there with my legs dangling in the water. I said, well you're down there! He said, yeah, well I have a knife! An interesting exchange, to be sure. But I thought more about it after seeing the fishermen on the pier throwing the fish head and guts in the water not far from me. I haven't surfed there in a while and to my knowledge no surfer has ever been attacked there.
While we're on the subject, I was surfing at night by the lights of the Huntington Beach pier years ago when something came up in front of me. The air was well lit but the water dark so it scared the crap out of me. It was a diver. He pulled his mask off and told me I was nuts. When I asked him why he said if I could see how many sharks were down just underneath me I wouldn't be sitting there with my legs dangling in the water. I said, well you're down there! He said, yeah, well I have a knife! An interesting exchange, to be sure. But I thought more about it after seeing the fishermen on the pier throwing the fish head and guts in the water not far from me. I haven't surfed there in a while and to my knowledge no surfer has ever been attacked there.
Somebody must have called a free beer party.
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