Sharks live in the ocean; surfers are just visitors…duh.
But most of the time, those oceanic residents go unseen, roaming around their home silently, sneakily, almost invisible. That doesn’t mean they’re not still there, though.
Like in this clip below:
View the original article to see embedded media.
It shows a surfer duckdiving – well, it shows the POV of the surfer’s duckdive via GoPro. And as they dive beneath a wave, the camera captures something lurking beneath the surface: a great white shark, just cruising along, having a look at the unsuspecting surfer.
Folks in the comments responded as such:
“I don’t open my eyes when I duck dive, if you don’t see it ain’t there.”
“Pro tip: if you close your eyes you can’t see a shark.”
“Aloha Mr. Shark. I hope you already had lunch. Mahalo for letting me enter your home.”
“The water suddenly turning brown.”
“Silly people here thinking they have EVER been in the ocean and a shark wasn’t there.”
It’s true. Sharks are there. And probably much more than you think.
According to a study from Cal State Long Beach’s Shark Lab, which we recently reported on, sharks are near surfers all the time, and almost always unseen by the surfers.
The study was conducted via drone footage from above. Over two years, researchers examined 26 locations on the California coast. And they found that at two locations – in San Diego County and Santa Barbara County – juvenile great whites between the ages of one and five years old were swimming near people 97% of the time.
However, all those sightings, and no encounters or attacks.
As Chris Lowe, the director of the Shark Lab said:
“It’s not just about sharks, it’s about people. This study may change people’s perception of the risk sharks pose to people that share the ocean with them.”
***
Don’t miss another headline from SURFER! Subscribe to our newsletter and stay connected with the latest happenings in the world of surfing. We’re always on the lookout for amusing, interesting and engaging surf-related videos to feature on our channels.
Whether you’re a professional surfer or just an amateur, we want to see your best footage and help you share it with the world. Submit your video for a chance to be featured on SURFER and our social channels. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch high-quality surf videos.