Twenty juvenile sharks of various lengths were safely back in the ocean Monday after being caught by a group of fishermen in Hermosa Beach over the weekend.
Five fishermen, who arrived at the beach’s pier at 6 a.m. Saturday, said they caught and released the sharks after mistaking them for makos, according to Easy Reader News.
A photo of the sharks showed that they were white.
The sharks took 10-15 minutes to reel in as the fishermen stayed away from beachgoers near the surfline.
Chris Lowe, a professor of marine biology at California State University Long Beach, said sharks come to Southern California waters during the summer because of the warmer temperatures and to give birth. He said they use the habitat similarly to humans.
“It’s a safe place for them,” Lowe said. “There’s lots of stingrays for them to eat at these beaches, so that makes it (a) good nursery habitat.”
This time of year is the beginning of shark season, according to Lowe.
Lowe said the upcoming summer will likely bring a higher number of sharks than normal due to the unusually strong El Niño weather pattern.
Even though fishermen may accidentally catch white sharks, Lowe said that they should know what they’re fishing for and what they catch.
“You can’t just use the argument, ‘Well, I didn’t know it wasn’t a mako.’” Lowe said. “You basically have to know what you’re catching.”
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced plans to post signage at the beach reminding people that it is illegal to hunt, catch or kill a white shark.
If you accidentally hook a white shark, CDFW said to cut the line immediately as close to the shark as safely possible.
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