• Dead naked surfer with apparent shark attack wounds washes up near San Diego beach

    Lt. John Everhart of San Diego Lifeguard Services briefs reporters on the case Thursday. View more videos at: http://nbcsandiego.com.

    By M. Alex Johnson, staff writer, NBC News

    A naked surfer washed up dead near a San Diego beach early Thursday with wounds consistent with a shark attack, authorities said.

    The 42-year-old man, who wasn't further identified because his family hadn't been notified, appeared to have been attacked after he died under other unusual circumstances in the water — possibly suicide — said Lt. John Everhart of San Diego Lifeguard Services, who cited a preliminary medical examiner's report.

    No shark sightings had been reported in the area, and officials didn't say what type of shark might have attacked the man. Everhart told reporters the body was found in shallow water about 250 yards from shore about 3:35 a.m. (6:35 a.m. ET) near Tourmaline Beach.

    "There were wounds on the body and trauma on the body," Everhart said. "The medical examiner has indicated that the wounds are consistent with what they would expect from a shark attack."

    NBC San Diego: Shark wounds found on surfer's body

    Police, fire rescue crews and the Coast Guard had been searching for the man since he was reported missing Wednesday night by his fiancée, Everhart said.


    Beyond the alarming prospect of a human-eating shark prowling the San Diego coast, other unusual factors raised questions about the case. Everhart said the man may have had an unknown medical condition or may even have set out to kill himself.

    The man was naked, and there were no signs of a struggle, authorities said. His wetsuit had been carefully tied around the surfboard; neither the wetsuit nor the board showed any signs of damage when they were found well offshore.

    Everhart called it odd "that someone would take their wetsuit off while they're out at sea and then tie it around their surfboard and then disappear."

    "I've never seen anything like it," he said.

    Tommy Calagna of Pacific Beach told NBC San Diego that he and his girlfriend saw the man sitting on his board several hundred yards out in the surf Wednesday evening — "really, really far out there, like double the distance of where the other surfers were at the time."

    Calagna, a veteran surfer, agreed that it was highly unusual that a surfer would take off his wetsuit before coming out of the water.

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    Related:

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  • Humane group probing death of shark in Kmart commercial shoot

    PETA via Reuters, file

    People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says a whistleblower took this photo of a shark in a California pool where a commercial was shot. The shark later died. The American Humane Association, which was on the set, could not confirm if the shark in the photo was the one that died.

    By Tracy Connor, Staff Writer, NBC News

    The death of a shark that was flown from New York to Los Angeles to film a Kmart commercial is under investigation, but the American Humane Association is denying accusations the creature was mistreated.

    The 5-foot white-tipped shark fell ill on March 6 after a film shoot in a 60,000-gallon pool, and oxygen and a shot of adrenaline failed to save its life, the association said in a statement.

    "There was absolutely no abuse or neglect involved," said the association, which was on the set to monitor the animal's well-being.

    The animal-rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals claimed two whistleblowers on the set  -- one anonymous -- reported the shark's health was jeopardized while it was kept in a "small above-ground pool" in a Van Nuys, Calif., backyard.


    PETA, which opposes the use of wild animals in ads, said human actors jumped in and out of the water, causing it stress. Julia Gallucci, an animal behavior specialist for the group, said the tipsters reported filming continued for an hour after the shark started to slow down and roll on its side.

    The humane association flatly denied the charges.

    "We were there. We did not allow any people in the pool with the shark," said Karen Rosa, senior adviser to the film and television unit.

    She said the moment the shark showed signs of distress, it was treated. When it continued to struggle, the shark was sent to an aquatic animal specialist and died later that day.

    Rosa said the association has enlisted an independent marine animal expert to investigate the shark's death because "this really troubled us."

    In a statement, Kmart said it was "saddened" by the incident.

    “We take this matter seriously and safety is always our paramount concern," said Howard Riefs, a spokesman for Sears Holdings, which owns Kmart.

    "We have been advised by our agency that the production company responsible for this shoot worked with professional animal handlers and a representative of the American Humane Association for the purpose of monitoring the shark’s welfare."

    It's unclear who owned the shark or why and exactly how it was shipped from one coast to the other. Critters of the Cinema -- which procured the shark for the production, according to PETA -- said it signed a confidentiality agreement and could not comment.

     

     

  • Surfer seriously hurt in 2nd California shark attack in a month

    Fellow surfers helped rescue a 25-year-old who was suffering from a 14-inch bite after a shark attack off the California coast. Experts says it was likely a Great White. TODAY's Tamron Hall reports.

    By Lori Preuitt, NBCBayArea.com

    A surfer has been attacked by a shark, the second incident off the California coast this month.

    Witnesses said several people were surfing just after noon on Tuesday off the Eureka Coast, Humboldt County, when the 25-year-old man started screaming for help.

    The injured surfer was able to get himself to shore, but had suffered serious bite wounds to his torso and was bleeding heavily, according to witnesses. The shark also bit a chunk out of his surf board.

    The Eureka Times Standard reported that the man was taken to St. Joseph Hospital and was listed in fair condition. 

    'Bleeding out pretty good'
    A trained emergency medical technician just happened to be on the beach and started treatment immediately. The injured man was then loaded into the back of a pickup truck, and rushed off the beach where he was transferred to a waiting ambulance.

    "We could just see that he was really gashed up and he had four or five serious gashes from his nipple down to his hip and was bleeding out pretty good so we hopped on him right away," an unidentified man said.

    View more videos at: http://nbcbayarea.com.

    The victim underwent surgery late Tuesday afternoon.

    A surfer in Santa Barbara was killed by a shark last week. Francisco Solorio was bitten in the upper torso, but did not survive. The shark in that attack was determined to be a 15-to-16-foot great white.

    Solorio's death marked the first fatal shark attack in the United States this year.

    Also on NBCBayArea.com: Surfer killed by great white shark

    In 2011, there were 75 attacks worldwide, with 29 U.S. attacks, according to annual records kept by the Florida Museum of Natural History's International Shark Attack File. Of all 2011 attacks, three were in California.

    The worldwide figure for 2011 included 12 fatal attacks, none of which were in the United States.

  • Fishermen reel in 900-pound shark

    A massive mako shark is hauled in off the California coast. KNBC's Gordon Tokumatsu reports.

    By Melissa Palmer, NBC Los Angeles

    LOS ANGELES -- A monster of the sea was killed and brought in to Marina del Rey – a shark so heavy that it damaged the brand-new scale at the dock.

    View more videos at: http://nbclosangeles.com.

    The 900-pound shark took some eight men to lift it out of the water Monday afternoon at Del Rey Landing, the marina's general manager said.

    "Our digital scale goes to 750, and it was bent before half of the shark was off the ground," said General Manager Craig Campbell, who was present when the giant shark was brought in.

    The fishermen's battle at sea with the shark broke the on-boat equipment as well, Campbell said. They fishermen had to tow the shark back to the marina because it was too heavy to pull aboard, he said.

    Campbell said the fish was thought to be a mako shark, a species that is often eaten. Makos that are brought in to the marina are usually in the 300-to-400-pound range, he said.

    The fishermen who landed the shark were about 15 miles off the coast, according to the Marina del Rey Patch, which first reported the catch Tuesday. Campbell suspected it was caught on the far side of Catalina Island.

    He said he didn't know the names of the fisherman, though he thought they were locals.

    See original story, video on NBCLosAngeles.com 

    Campbell said the fishermen don't keep boats at Del Rey Landing, which is a luxury facility designed for yachts.

    The Marina del Rey Patch reported that the fishermen had gone to sea with the intent of catching a shark.

    Most sharks brought in to the landing are donated to downtown Los Angeles food banks, Campbell said.

    "Mako is fantastic," Campell said. "It's very good eating."

    Campbell said he was uncertain what happened to the shark carcass and did not know where the fishermen took it. He said he thought they may have taken it down to a Redondo Beach marina, but a marina manager and the owner of a sport fishing business there said the shark hadn't appeared in the harbor to the south.

    The fish appeared to be either a longfin mako or shortfin mako in photos, said Heal the Bay coastal resources director Sarah Sikich. Neither species is threatened or endangered, but longfin and shortfin mako are both listed as "vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

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