Waters Safe In San Diego After Shark Attack?

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Is it safe to go in the waters off San Diego, California after the shark attack? That's our question.

Last Friday, the Pacific waters off San Diego County were roiled after a shark attacked and killed a retired veterinarian and triathlete. With the weekend forecast promising dry winds and summery temperatures — classic Southern California beach weather — the thousands that typically would be expected to throng the Pacific shoreline will have to decide whether ignoring authorities and taking a dip is worth risking the danger officials believe still exists.

An online report from the San Diego Union-Tribune says experts have confirmed that the predator was a great white shark. (During an autopsy, great white teeth were recovered from the victim.) Helicopters searching for signs of the shark that killed triathlete David Martin will continue scanning the coastline Saturday from the city of San Diego to Carlsbad, said Solana Beach Lifeguard Capt. Craig Miller.

Authorities closed a stretch of sand around Solana Beach, about 20 miles north of downtown San Diego, to search for the shark. (None was found.) The North County beaches have since been reopened. According to Jon Greene, spokesman of the Solano Beach Chamber, "People are not being deterred. It was just one of those freak things." The beaches remain closed and will be patrolled throughout the weekend, according to city and county officials.

From 1990 to 1999, there have been 108 shark attacks along the West Coast; great whites were suspected in 87 percent of those situations. Since 2000, 31 shark attacks have occured off California, two of which were fatal. In San Diego people are afraid of the waters now. Martin, 66, died on the beach Friday morning after a shark, presumed to be a great white, lifted him out of the water with his legs in its jaws, leaving deep lacerations and shredding Martin's black wetsuit. Martin, a retired veterinarian, was the first shark fatality in San Diego County since 1994. Prior to that, the last known fatal attack in the area was in 1959. Even die-hards said word of the attack gave them pause.