Large Shark Attacks Kayaker Off Santa Cruz; Water Access Restricted.
SANTA CRUZ (CBS SF) — A kayaker was attacked by a large shark in the waters off Santa Cruz Beach Tuesday morning, according to authorities.
A call came in at 11:01 a.m. about the attack near West Cliff and Pelton Avenue, according to the Santa Cruz Fire Department.
Marine Safety personnel confirmed the attack happened about a mile out from Steamer Lane.
The kayaker was not injured, but the kayak sustained extensive damage with a bite mark from the shark’s teeth visible on the underside.
The City of Santa Cruz is posting shark warning notices along a one-mile radius where the attacked happened for the next four days.
All water activities at beaches, including Main Beach and Cowell Beach, are prohibited until sunrise Saturday morning, according to the city.
Steve Lawson later said in an interview with KSBW, the shark was a great white.
He used his marine radio to call harbor patrol.
” This is a reminder that swimming in the ocean does carry some risk and we encourage all swimmers, surfers and kayakers to be mindful of their surroundings and follow directions of lifeguards and Marine Safety staff.”

A study led by UC Santa Cruz researchers has found that drought dramatically increases the severity of West Nile virus epidemics in the United States, although populations affected by large outbreaks acquire immunity that limits the size of subsequent epidemics.
The study, published February 8 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, involved researchers from UC Santa Cruz, Stanford University, and the New York State Department of Health.
They analyzed 15 years of data on human West Nile virus infections from across the United States and found that epidemics were much larger in drought years and in regions that had not suffered large epidemics in the past.
"We found that drought was the dominant weather variable correlated with the size of West Nile virus epidemics," said first author Sara Paull, who led the study as a post-doctoral researcher at UC Santa Cruz and is now at the National Center for Atmospheric Research.
In the new study, Paull and Marm Kilpatrick, an associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UC Santa Cruz, analyzed patterns in the number of severe West Nile virus infections each year in each state and nationally.
Model projections indicated that increased drought could double the size of future West Nile virus epidemics, but that outbreaks would be limited to regions that have yet to sustain large numbers of cases.
"Drought identified as key to severity of West Nile virus epidemics: Study finds transmission of West Nile virus is higher in drought years, but after large outbreaks acquired immunity limits the size of subsequent epidemics."
ScienceDaily, 7 February 2017.
Drought identified as key to severity of West Nile virus epidemics: Study finds transmission of West Nile virus is higher in drought years, but after large outbreaks acquired immunity limits the size of subsequent epidemics.
"Drought identified as key to severity of West Nile virus epidemics: Study finds transmission of West Nile virus is higher in drought years, but after large outbreaks acquired immunity limits the size of subsequent epidemics."