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Seal Beach lifeguards are trained professionals who monitor nearly two miles of ocean beaches daily for a variety of issues to ensure the public’s safety.
Recently, there has been an increased occurrence of shark sightings in the ocean waters off Southern California. We have developed this site to provide the public with information about ocean safety. The City has taken measures to increase staff’s knowledge about these increased sightings and to provide an educational platform for the public.
Several measures have been implemented in partnership with other lifeguard agencies and professionals in the field of marine wildlife. Below are a few of the measures that the City is currently following.
Regional lifeguard agencies have developed a shark policy (Policy) with the assistance of Dr. Chris Lowe from the California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) Shark Lab. The Shark Lab has been monitoring shark activity since 1966 and Dr. Lowe is considered an expert in the field. He continues to be a valuable resource to the City of Seal Beach.
Lifeguard personnel across the region use the Policy as a guideline and implement similar procedures when responding to any sightings or aggressive behavior as noted below.
In partnership with the CSULB team, lifeguards have recently deployed acoustic receivers at the within the Seal Beach City limits. These receivers record any previously tagged marine animal, including sharks, which come within 500 yards of the receiver (depending on the animal’s transponder).
To collect the data, lifeguards remove the receivers from the water and download the data. They then replace the receivers in the water. The collected data is transmitted to the CSULB Shark Lab for review and is uploaded into its larger database. When there is an indication of a marine animal's presence in Seal Beach's ocean waters, the information will be logged on our marine animal monitoring log.