Heal the Bay Blog

To present an alternative to the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week (and cult TV movies like Sharknado), Heal the Bay staff write about the marine animals they love so much. The general public has been fed terrifying misconceptions about these creatures, and our mission is to raise awareness about the unique and important role sharks play in our local ocean ecosystem.

Through our Angler Outreach Program, Heal the Bay engages fishermen throughout the Santa Monica Bay area to teach anglers about fish contamination. In the process, we also learn about different types of fish and sharks these fishermen catch from the piers, including the Pacific angel shark (Squatina californica).

The angel shark can be observed in shallow waters from Alaska to southern California and from Ecuador to Chile. The forward part is flattened and the rear part similar to the other sharks, eyes and gill openings are at the top, pectoral and pelvic fins are large and horizontally, have two dorsal fins and the lower lobe of the caudal fin is larger than the upper lobe.

They can grow up to five feet long and produce litters of up to 13 pups.

They look harmless, but if disturbed in their natural environment, can cause serious injuries with their bite, as they possess powerful and flexible jaws.

To present an alternative to the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week (and cult TV movies like Sharknado), Heal the Bay staff write about the marine animals they love so much. The general public has been fed terrifying misconceptions about these creatures, and our mission is to raise awareness about the unique and important role sharks play in our local ocean ecosystem.

The Santa Monica Pier Aquarium’s swell sharks were my gateway shark. Growing up on the East Coast and vacationing on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, my surfcasting father created a bit of shark paranoia in me. He spent hours knee deep in the waves, casting for blues, drum, striped bass and mackerel.  I was usually not far away, playing for hours in the warm Atlantic waves. On occasion Dad would yell: “Get out of the water, I see a shark circling back!”

I never actually saw a shark in those waves on the Outer Banks, but the fear of the unknown — and the unseen — coupled with my father’s obvious concern left me with an unhealthy, unfounded fear.

Fast-forward to 2001 (we won’t discuss how far forward), and I find myself working in an aquarium with the opportunity to spend some quality time with sharks.  Our five swell sharks, Cephaloscyllium ventriosm, aren’t the creatures of my nightmares, but learning interesting facts about their behavior specifically and more about sharks in general has turned my fear into fascination. Images of hammerheads, great whites and whale sharks now surround my desk.  I adamantly argue to whomever will listen for shark conservation measures, knowing the vital role they serve in the ocean.

And they are deserving of our respect as an ancient species – fossil deposits containing evidence of swell sharks in Southern California date them back at least 5.3 million years.  Another fun fact: swell sharks make up for their size (at maturity they reach a mere three feet in length) by swelling up to deter predators. The shark will twist its body into a U-shape, grab its tail fin and swallow seawater to double its size. 

For the last several years, the swell sharks at the Aquarium have been producing eggs, a sign the sharks are well adjusted and thriving.  Developing eggs are on display in our shark nursery.  What begins looking like a tiny tadpole grows in the egg casing for 10 to 12 months and becomes a fully developed juvenile shark – about six inches long and known as a pup. The pup breaks out, often first swimming upside down as it gets its bearings. Aquarium staff and volunteers love to point visitors to the shark nursery exhibit, providing running commentary on the journey from egg to pup.

So this shark fearing kid grew into an adult armed with enough information to truly appreciate and advocate on behalf of these magnificent creatures.

— Randi Parent
Heal the Bay’s Aquarium Outreach Manager

Anyone can contribute to the health and well being of the Aquarium’s swell sharks through our Aquadoption program. The adult sharks, developing eggs and pups are available for yearlong adoptions, along with seven other species on exhibit at the Aquarium.  

Watch one of our baby swell sharks do flips!

To present an alternative to the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week (and cult TV movies like Sharknado), Heal the Bay staff write about the marine animals they love so much. The general public has been fed terrifying misconceptions about these creatures, and our mission is to raise awareness about the unique and important role sharks play in our local ocean ecosystem.

They’re small, timid and super cute! But I forgot all about that when I first encountered a leopard shark during one of my early forays into surfing.

I was out at Sunset Beach with one of Heal the Bay’s awesome volunteers, Boun, who is the perfect surfing teacher, given his supportive and mellow nature, which allowed me to relax and thoroughly enjoy the experience.  While we were waiting for that killer wave, we were chatting on our boards when all of sudden Boun said: “Oh cool, a shark!”

Like most people I had heard that sharks can confuse people in wetsuits for seals, so of course I immediately freaked out.  Boun saw my frightened face and quickly said: “Oh, no worries…they’re just leopard sharks!”  After my momentary panic I remembered that leopard sharks are harmless to humans and — as I mentioned earlier — pretty darn cute. 

You can find Leopard sharks in the Pacific coast of North America starting in Oregon all the way down to Mazatlan in Mexico.  They measure about 4-5 feet and are easy to identify due to the dark spots and saddle type markings that give them their name. Leopard sharks love to hang out in sand and mud flats, rocky reefs and kelp beds. 

If you’ve ever want to see this beautiful creature for yourself, you’re in luck! They frequent local waters, such as Catalina Island. I was lucky enough to be invited to visit USC Wrigley’s Marine Science Center on the island, and we got to snorkel out in the kelp forest where we saw many leopard sharks swimming lazily along the bottom of the kelp bed.  And, no, I did not freak out this time!

La Jolla Shores beach in San Diego is another popular leopard shark hangout.  Snorkeling and kayaking are great ways to get close to these cuties.

If you are looking for something closer to home you can always try Mother’s Beach or Venice Beach where we have also heard of many leopard shark sightings. 

Finally if you are one of those people that prefers a tank between you and your sharks, check them out at our Santa Monica Pier Aquarium (underneath the pier) where every week we host Shark Sunday at 3:30 p.m.

 — Melissa Aguayo
Heal the Bay’s Education Outreach Manager

In the same week that the federal government declined to protect the great white shark, California’s ban on shark fin sales and possession went into effect.

According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, an estimated 73 million sharks are killed each year for their fins, which can sell for more than $2,000 a pound in California. The International Union for Conservation of Nature estimates that the populations of some shark species, such as hammerheads, have been reduced by as much as 90% in recent years.

In 2011, Heal the Bay, our partners and supporters urged the passage of legislation to protect the oceans and our environment by making the sale of shark fins illegal. We made a difference, and last year Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 376, which banned the sale, trade and distribution of shark fins in California. At the same time, he signed a companion bill that allowed existing stocks of on-hand shark fins to be sold until July 1, 2013.

Now that July 1 is here, restaurants are mandated to remove the item from their menus and store shelves. Violators could face penalties of up to six months in prison and fines up to $1,000.

Victory, however, was bittersweet. At least for the white shark population, as Friday, great white sharks in California were rejected for listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle: “The National Marine Fisheries Service declined to list the big sharks despite recent estimates showing only 350 adults and sub-adults in the two places along the West Coast where they congregate — Guadalupe Island, in Mexico, and in the area known as the Red Triangle between Monterey Bay, the Farallon Islands and Bodega Head.”

In California, the Department of Fish and Wildlife is collecting data and assessing whether a statewide threatened or endangered species listing is merited for this species.

Read more about our efforts to ban shark fin sales.

Learn about listing the white shark as endangered in California. 

It was hard to ignore the front page news that a world-record breaking-size mako shark was caught this week just off our shores in Southern California. Here, Jose Bacallao, diver of 20+ years and the Operations Manager at Heal the Bay’s Santa Monica Pier Aquarium, provides his take on the ethics of this recent shark hunt.

The 1,323-pound mako shark caught off our coast this Monday near Huntington Beach—possibly the largest on record– was reeled in not for food and definitely not for scientific study. A crew filming a reality series for the Outdoor Channel hooked this mako. Therefore, the 12-foot-long shark was sacrificed merely for commercial entertainment purposes.

I am not arguing that the crew who caught this shortfin mako violated any California laws. They were within their full legal rights to do it. In fact they could have legally have done it twice that day, as that’s the limit. And maybe they should have killed two mako sharks, because it would have pointed out just how asinine and ignorant this killing was. Landing this giant mako shark is unintelligent, but it would best be called unethical. There is no reason to hunt this fish unless you are planning on eating it, which these men did not do.

Also disappointing was how the mako catch was portrayed by the members of the media, who allowed Jason Johnston, one of the men who caught the shark, to describe the mako as “definitely a killing machine” without disputing this notion. In reality, in the real world, mako sharks are not a threat to people. Using terms such as “killing machine,” “man-eater” or “monster” is tragically misleading. I have been in the water with mako sharks and I don’t agree with this assessment. It is unfounded and lacks any rationale. The mako does not treat humans as prey.

Another of Johnston’s comments that went undisputed in initial media reports of the mako catch was: “There are not that many sharks being taken out of the water. It’s not hurting the population. If we pull four fish out of the water per year, that’s just four.” This is both inaccurate and illogical. There is overwhelming evidence that global shark populations have been decimated by years of fishing pressure.

This impact along with the ongoing shark finning industry is altering the ocean’s ecosystems. Thank you for the math lesson, Jason Johnston. Clearly, you miss the point. The 1,300 lbs mako could have produced, not four, but dozens of new shark pups. It takes many, many years for these large predators to reproduce. Now that you killed her, for TV viewing entertainment, she will not be able to provide the much-needed contribution to her depleted species. Your hunt, which you did not eat, has removed one of the last few giants out of the ecosystem.

So what exactly were these guys thinking? Apparently the crew has plans to donate the shark’s body for scientific research. Are you kidding me? Donating it to science, really? Your effort, killing this mako shark, is benefiting the scientific community? Please educate me on this strategic plan. Explain to me how you are contributing to the conservation of the species? Give me a break, bro.

I invite these gentlemen to spend a few minutes in the water with a mako shark and me. Get educated and have an understanding as to what this animal actually is. You can reach me at Heal the Bay’s Santa Monica Pier Aquarium.

You can spend a few minutes getting to know the misunderstood shark at Heal the Bay’s Santa Monica Pier Aquarium on Shark Sundays at 3:30 p.m.

What better time to thank the First Lady of Song, Ella Fitzgerald, than Valentine week. Find a recording of Ella singing “My Funny Valentine,” you’ll soon discover what we mean….

But we love Ella for more than just her three-octave range. We also love Ella because a few years before she passed away in 1996, she formed the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation to help create educational opportunities for children.

Her foundation recently funded resources for our “Lunch ‘n Learn” field trip program (pictured left) to help foster a love of the ocean in students from regional schools. Each year, Heal the Bay provides marine education through Lunch ‘n Learn to 500 underserved Title 1 students, bussing them to Duke’s Malibu for a day of beach exploration and learning games.

Although we live in Southern California, winter mornings at the shore can still be chilly. We’d like to thank Venice Ale House owner Tom Elliot for serving free hot coffee to our Nothin’ But Sand volunteers who’d gathered in January to clean up Venice Beach.( Some of us at Heal the Bay also appreciate the spirit-warming benefits of Venice Ale House’s selection of craft beers… one pint at a time!)

White sharks off our California coast are safer now, thanks to your advocacy efforts. We are grateful to all of you who signed and shared our petition supporting the listing of the Northeastern Pacific population of white sharks as endangered or threatened. Yesterday, the Fish and Game Commission unanimously voted this population of white shark to candidacy under the CA Endangered Species Act. This is an exciting decision! Thank you for your support!

Learn more about our science-based educational efforts. Lunch’ n Learn is just the beginning!

Warm your heart and come to our next Nothin But Sand beach cleanup on Saturday, February 16, 10 a.m.-Noon at Will Rogers State Beach.