Multiple sharks were swimming in the water off Southern California Tuesday afternoon, hundreds of yards away from swimmers and surfers.

Photos: Sharks Spotted Near Swimmers

The often-feared fish were spotted off the Manhattan Beach coast at Rosecrans Avenue, just south of LAX. NewsChopper 4 reported seeing at least three sharks within 150 yards of beachgoers in the water.

Since mid-July, some 50 beachgoers have reported seeing sharks in the northern portion of Manhattan Beach, according to LA County Lifeguard Capt. Kyle Daniels.

Daniels said the beachgoers may be seeing the same few sharks, but the frequency of reports is up. He said there are typically about a dozen reports within the same time frame.

The sharks have been seen north of the Manhattan Beach Pier to El Port, a popular surf spot, Daniels said.

In the past month, Peter Wallerstein, with Marine Animal Rescue, said he's seen several sea lions wash up alive along the Manhattan Beach coast with their tails and rear flippers bitten off.

Wallerstein said the bites were obviously inflicted by sharks, but added that he hadn't seen any bitten sea lions this week.

Lifeguards said it's common for sharks, especially juveniles, to be in the Santa Monica Bay region in late August. It's a time when the young sharks learn how to hunt for sea life.

It wasn't clear what type of sharks were spotted Tuesday, though experts said they be Mako sharks between 4 and 11 feet long.

No beachers have been closed and no swimmers or surfers have been attacked, Daniels said.

Lifeguards are monitoring the situation and said if they have reason to believe the sharks are aggressive or swimmers are in danger, they will move beachgoers out of the water.



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