According to witnesses at the scene, the victim had his leg bitten off. And although he was brought to the beach quickly, those assisting were unable to stop the bleeding. The shark is suspected to be a great white, but this has yet to be confirmed.



While there have been a number of shark attacks in California in the last decade, fatalities are rare. According to the Global Shark Attack File, out of 53 reported shark "incidents" in California since 2000 (which include attacks and bumps), only three had been fatal prior to this attack.



In response to the attack, Vanderberg officials have closed Surf Beach as well as Wall and Minuteman beaches for at least 72 hours, and warning signs have also been posted at beaches nearby, including at Jalama.



The last attack at Surf Beach happened in 2008, when a surfer's board was bitten, but he wasn't injured in the incident. The last shark-related fatality in California was also in 2008, when triathlete David Martin was killed while swimming off the coast of Solana Beach.



According to shark researchers, great white sharks like to feed in nearshore areas of California in the summer and fall, with August through November representing the most active periods. A project by the Census of Marine Life, which tagged and tracked the migratory patterns of great whites from 2000 to 2007, provided further evidence of this. Including this latest incident, there have been five shark attacks in California thus far in 2010 -- two kayakers, one surfer, one stand-up paddleboarder, and one bodyboarder.



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More Information:



http://www.sharkattackfile.net



http://www.topp.org/species/white_shark MORE SURF NEWS

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