By now, I’m sure you’ve read the news about the shark attack at Grey Whale Cove State Beach this past weekend just south of the well-known surf break of Pacifica. On Saturday morning, 39-year old Nemanja Spasojevic was in the water at the cove when he was bitten by – what he was able to confirm as – a six- to eight-foot juvenile great white shark.
Despite the incredible misfortune of being the other animal involved in a shark attack, as far as such events go Spasojevic was pretty lucky, as the shark bit and then released him fairly quickly, causing significant, but not horrific injuries. As a further piece of luck, a local fisherman, Thomas Masotta, was reportedly on the beach when the attack happened, and quickly jumped into action. “He yelled, ‘Hey guy!’ When he saw that I saw him, he collapsed to the ground,” Masotta told ABC 7 News.
Grey Whale Cove State Beach, the site of the shark attack. Photo: Calif. Dept of Forestry and Fire Protection
Using the straps from his backpack, Masotta fashioned a tourniquet to stop the bleeding, and was able to find service and call 911 (not an easy task on that stretch of coastline). Paramedics brought the injured man to the hospital, where he was described to be in “serious” but not “critical” condition. Spasojevic has since been released from the hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.
Surfers in the area were hardly deterred, with Pacifica crowds fully present as per usual the rest of Saturday and Sunday, despite shitty surf and the attack just a few miles away. That’s probably why this particular attack says so much about Bay Area surfing for me even though this time it was a snorkeler.
Surfers in the greater San Francisco area have an interesting attitude towards sharks. Having lived in the Bay my entire life, I’ve been privy to the casual nonchalance that comes with being a surfer in such sharky waters, as well as the anxiety that comes with foggy morning sessions or staying out past sunset.
A common refrain I’ve heard at Ocean Beach is that sharks are out there, but they’re just “passing through” these waters, and besides, a shark attack has never happened at OB. In Santa Cruz, at the popular breaks of Steamer Lane and Pleasure Point, the most common train of thought I’ve heard is that sharks can’t hunt in all the kelp (that at times can make surfing pretty tricky as well) and so surfing along the Santa Cruz coastline is relatively safe. Further north, at breaks in Marin County, I hear, “It’s too shallow here for shark attacks to happen,” or “sharks stick to the The Farallons” (a set of rocky islands 30 miles outside of the Golden Gate Straight and a national wildlife refuge).
No matter what the rationalization, there is no doubt that the idea that shark attacks don’t happen in the Bay Area is far from the truth. A map compiled in 2015 (and only chronicling shark attacks up until then) shows the extent of run-ins along this stretch of coastline – and while many of them are not surfing-related (involving activities such as spearfishing or abalone diving), there are plenty of surfing shark attack incidents, including at locations such as Ocean Beach and Pleasure Point, which many say are “safe” from shark attacks, for the “reasons” listed above.
I’m not saying we shouldn’t be surfing, or that we need to do something about the situation, but maybe that we should come to terms a little better with the truth about just how risky it is to surf in the Bay Area. This attack comes just one year (and a month) after 26-year old surfboard shaper Ben Kelly was killed by a shark at Manresa State Beach, just down the coast from Santa Cruz. Most of what I’ve been reading on that incident describes how rare shark attacks are in the area, and how, when shark attacks do happen, they are a mistake and (similar to this latest attack) the shark is merely investigating and rarely ends up doing serious damage.
However, in all of this “don’t worry, carry on as normal,” I think we need to remember that shark attacks do happen, just like getting run over by a kook in the water or getting in a car accident. And while most attacks aren’t fatal, there’s no doubt that such an event is life-threatening. I guess the takeaway here, for me at least, is just being cognizant of that fact, and ready for shark attacks when they do occur. As this most recent event showed us, having someone on hand who knows what they’re doing can be the difference between life and death. It might be worth it to learn some first aid yourself. Maybe it’s even time to lose the, “shark attacks don’t happen here” attitude.
Editor’s Note: Due to conflicting reports from the scene, the original version of this story stated that the shark attack victim was a surfer. He was, in fact, snorkeling.
