Share
0 0 0 0

Shark Forces Officials to Close Southern California Waters

May 27, 2024


The Southern California city of San Clemente closed access to its waters on Monday after “aggressive shark behavior” was seen in the area.

According to a post on X, formerly Twitter, the city said, “Ocean water at all City of San Clemente beaches has been closed due to confirmed aggressive shark behavior in the vicinity of T-Street Beach. Beaches will remain open, but water access will remain closed until 8:00pm tonight (5/27/24), pending no additional shark sightings.”

Newsweek has reached out to San Clemente City Hall via email on Monday for additional information.

What We Know

The alert was posted to X around 9:30 a.m. PT on Monday, alerting residents and beachgoers of the “aggressive shark behavior.”

The behavior was spotted near T-Street Beach in San Clemente. T-Street Beach is located at 339 W. Paseo De Cristobal, according to the city’s website. Amenities of this beach include restrooms, metered parking and concessions.

According to the Los Angeles Times, a lifeguard was first alerted of the shark behavior around 8 p.m. on Sunday when a surfer was bumped off their board. San Clemente Marine Safety Lt. Sean Staudenbaur told the newspaper, “The surfer and one other surfer were sitting on their boards waiting for a wave when they saw a dark gray object approach and knock one of the surfers off their surfboard.”

Staudenbaur also told the Times that “the majority of our shark sightings are just sightings where there’s no signs of aggressive behavior.”

According to local news station ABC7, a lifeguard boat was also seen patrolling the area on Monday.

San Clemente is south of Dana Point and Laguna Beach.

Shark
In an aerial view, a juvenile white shark swims in the clear, shallow water of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of La Jolla on November 22, 2023, in San Diego, California. “Aggressive shark behavior”…


Getty Images/Kevin Carter

What’s Next

According to the city, water access will remain closed until 8 p.m., but this is pending “no additional shark sightings.”

It is not known to Newsweek what type of shark was spotted.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

Update 6:25 p.m. ET 5/27/24: This story was updated with additional information, including San Clemente Marine Safety Lt. Sean Staudenbaur’s comment to the Los Angeles Times.