Sharks

A perusing of shark-related articles found in the past 50 years of San Diego's newspapers (Union, Tribune and Union-Tribune) reveals some interesting events. In 1990, a 16-foot-long, 2,000-pound white was caught 25 miles outside of Point Loma. In 1994, a woman's body was found, with teeth lacerations and a missing limb, also off of Point Loma. A kayaker paddling through the kelp bed of La Jolla Shores in 1995 was bitten on the head after losing her balance when the shark bumped her boat. The most renowned attack in the area occurred in 1959, when a former Pacific Beach lifeguard was reportedly swallowed whole while skin diving at La Jolla Cove. Listed together like this, these human-shark incidents appear foreboding. But, in actuality, the list reveals only three incidents in the past 50 years, and none of them involved a surfer.