Sharks and Submarine Canyons. Any Day Underwater is a Good

This week we explored La Jolla Canyon - a place where white sharks lurk. La Jolla Shores is part of our state network of marine protected areas we are helping monitor with our State collaborative network and citizen science program. We entered the mild surf and kicked over emerald green waters. Dropping down to the bottom, I floated over fields of purple sand dollars stuck vertically in the sand in relatively clear water. The deep canyon head rises very close to shore in only 40 feet (12 m) deep. The narrow nearshore valley joins the larger La Jolla Canyon, dropping to a depth of 980 feet, approximately 1l3 miles from its head. There the walls of Scripps Canyon are V-shaped and have a height of approximately 360 feet, but closer to shore the walls slope more gently.

As we entered the edge of the canyon the bottom sloped quickly with sediments spilling over the escarpment into the canyon. The water felt spooky but invigorating at 100 feet and suspended another 400 feet below as I entered a stream of sediments downfalling in the darkness. My buddy Mike Bear's bright dive light dimmed then suddenly obscured behind the curtain of suspended sand and we were separated. As I sank relied on my instruments to orient myself. Diving in these conditions is a form of meditative consciousness. Each breath is precious, the sounds of the world are erased and an exhilaration driven by a mild form of survival is all- consuming. At 115 feet I headed north towards the wall and upwards against the current.Kicking back up to 90 feet the light brightened and I spotted the glow of Mike's light.

Whenever I dive the canyon I hope to see white shark because it is believed they swim up the canyon to hunt nearshore. We know white sharks like drop offs and their preferred mode of predation is to ambush form below. There is a history of sharks including White sharks observed frequenting La Jolla Cove and Shores, and white shark attacks on humans have occurred in the region. In 1959 an abalone diver died in the Cove from what has been identified as a white shark attack. In 1995 an unidentified kayaker was reported to have been bitten and a triangular serrated tooth was removed from her head (although no confirmation of the identity or the tooth have been made). In 2008, just north of the Shores at Solano Beach, triathlete David Martin was bit while swimming with a group (sadly, he died). The most recent attack on the coast occurred in 2018 when 13 year-old Keane Webre-Hayes was bit in the shoulder and arm while lobster diving near Encinitas. Fortunately, Keane is expected to fully recover, and hopes to get back into the ocean soon.

With a growing population of prey, the California sea lions are increasing in the Cove, and it is likely to attract predators closer to shore. Over the past decade sevengill sharks have been seen periodically in the kelp bed of the Cove. With Long-time San Diego recreational and science divers With Michael Bear and Barbara Lloyd, Shark Stewards has joined forces to establish an ocean conservation project, called Ocean Sanctuaries, devoted to species conservation, logging shark observations, ocean sustainability as well as supporting citizen science projects and documentary films which involve the ocean. This citizen science program ranges form tidal pool data, to bioblitzes on the wreck the Yukon to a California shark project, all engaging the non-diving and diving public to participate in collecting and recording observations, and perhaps more important, to be aware of the wildlife along our coastline and how we might respect and protect them.

On this dive, we didn't see a shark, but I did see a cormorant kicking along the bottom foraging at 70 feet. Afterwards Mike joked I would tell everyone what crappy dives he took me on, but I loved it. Sometimes you make the best of crappy conditions with an adventure. On the back of Mike’s truck next to a sticker of the local dive shop, is a sticker that says No Bad Days.

I would add, any day diving is a good day, especially if we see sharks. Sharks are the ones experiencing bad days, but Shark Stewards is trying to change that. We have an end of year matching donation program- and are nearly halfway towards a $10,000 match.

Please share this opportunity with your network and have a Blue New Year. Learn more at sharksteward.org