Long Beach Has At Least Three Juvenile Great White Sharks In Peninsula Beach Area; Councilwoman Price Says In Abundance Of Caution, Marine Safety Bureau Will Place "Shark Sighted" Advisories From 72nd Place to La Verne St. Lifeguard Tower

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Long Beach Has At Least Three Juvenile Great White Sharks In Peninsula Beach Area; Councilwoman Price Says In Abundance Of Caution, Marine Safety Bureau Will Place "Shark Sighted" Advisories From 72nd Place to La Verne Lifeguard Tower

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Shortly after LBREPORT.com moved the story below on our front page and on our Facebook page, the City of Long Beach put a Marine Safety Advisory on its Facebook page as follows: "Marine Safety Advisory: Several juvenile (4 to 7 feet) Great White Sharks have been sighted close to shore along the Peninsula ocean front feeding on the abundant food supply of stingrays and sea bass. The City of Long Beach Marine Safety Bureau will be placing Shark Sighted advisories in area of 72nd Place to the La Verne Avenue Lifeguard Tower. The juvenile sharks have not displayed any aggressive behavior, and Marine Safety will continue Rescue Boat Patrols and keep a close watch on the area. Please pay attention to all posted signs and instructions from Lifeguards and public safety personnel."

(June 24, 2016, 8:55 p.m.) -- Long Beach has a 7-foot juvenile Great White Shark feasting on the ecosystem in the Peninsula Beach area and at least two 4-foot juvenile Great Whites in the area of the Peninsula Ocean Front, Councilwoman Suzie Price indicated on her Facebook page in the 7 p.m. hour on Friday (June 24).

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Councilwoman Price's message states that in an abundance of caution, LB's Marine Safety Bureau will be placing "Shark-Sighted Advisories" in the area of 72nd Place to the La Verne St. lifeguard tower. "Our lifeguards will advise visiting beach goers that we have identified juvenile great whites in the area. Experts believe that any Great White under 10-feet is usually not a threat, but in the end we just don't know."

In the public interest on a matter of public safety, LBREPORT.com reproduces the full text of Councilwoman Price's Facebook message below:

[Councilwoman Price Facebook page text, 7 p.m. hour June 24, 2016]
Good evening neighbors. I just got off the phone with Marine Safety Chief Medina. There is an important update regarding shark activity in the peninsula.
Over the past several days Marine Safety has received unconfirmed reports of marine life breaching the water in the area of Peninsula Beach. Marine Safety began investigating these reports by interviewing reporting parties, deploying lifeguards on personal water craft for reconnaissance, and increasing rescue boat patrols to the area of Peninsula Beach, where the majority of reports originated. In our investigation we discovered we have a variety of large marine life that is frequenting the area due to a healthy marine ecosystem that has flourished on the East Beach Ocean Front.
We have schools of sea bass that thrive in the turbulent sandy conditions of the Peninsula Ocean front, as well as an endless supply of stingrays which are a popular food source for large marine life. We also have at least one 8-foot dolphin, grey and white, that has made the area its home, as well two Thresher sharks that feed on the abundant fish supply. In our investigation we continued to observe large marine life breaching the water (sharks), that we could not conclusively identify.
This morning I requested assistance from Seal Beach Lifeguard, and their aerial Drone technology, which they have successfully used to identify and monitor seven juvenile Great White sharks in their area of responsibility. Results from the drone as reported by a Seal Beach Lifeguard drone pilot -- with extensive experience identifying types of sharks -- has confirmed that Long Beach has a 7-foot juvenile great white feasting on our healthy eco system. Additionally, we have at least two more 4-foot juvenile great whites that are feeding on stingrays in the area of the Peninsula Ocean Front.
It should be noted that at this time, none of the sharks have displayed aggressive behavior. These juveniles are clearly feasting on stingrays, and that food source brings them close to shore.
With warm weather in our forecast, and in an abundance of caution, Marine safety will be placing Shark Sighted advisories in area of 72nd Place to La Verne st Lifeguard Tower. Our lifeguards will advise visiting beach goers that we have identified juvenile great whites in the area. Experts believe that any Great White under 10-feet is usually not a threat, but in the end we just don't know.
Our Junior Lifeguard Program begins next week, and we are already building flexibility into the curriculum to allow for our changing and dynamic marine life conditions.
Marine Safety will continue to monitor. Shark Sighted signs will be posted in affected areas, we will continue Rescue Boat patrols, and we will continue to keep a close watch on our new guests. Any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us or the marine safety bureau.