by Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist (read the original in Noozhawk by clicking here)
We cherished our first paddle boards, from the ankle leashes to the sleek orange (his) and blue (hers) surfaces to the handy silver carriers. Within a few months, though, they were stolen. We reverted to borrowing boards for the next several years.
Paddle-boarding is amazing. There is nothing comparable to the exquisite beauty of Santa Barbara from a couple hundred yards out to sea. We introduced friends to the sport. In particular, my buddy Chris, who overcame unhappy childhood boating memories to troll with me just beyond the breakers one sunny day. The next day we read that a great white shark had been spotted in the area. That was the last time she paddled with me.
My attitude about sharks is that the chances of an encounter are vanishingly small. You can’t let fear run your life. I even took up ocean swimming, though a couple of times I stroked gripping two sticks of bamboo — the better to bop a beast on the nose. But what are the chances? My switches got soggy, and I discarded them.
Finally we bought another pair of boards. This time we acquired used ones, to deter thieves. Winter paddling is unbeatable: clear skies, clear water and occasional dolphin escorts. Then I got to chatting with a guy who gave me cold feet again.
Peter Howorth is director of the Santa Barbara Marine Mammal Center. I asked him what changes he has noticed in his decades of marine mammal rescues. He noted the increased number of marine mammal pup strandings over the last three years. But another emerging issue is marine mammals showing evidence of shark attack. The cause for increased attacks is easier to trace than the cause for increased strandings: more sharks.
“White shark fishing was banned in 1994,” Howorth explains. “Females produce three to five offspring every three to five years. Then they take 14 to 16 years to reach maturity.”
The increase in white shark attacks coincides with the expected recovery in white shark population.
I asked what he thinks about shark deterrents. Maybe a psychedelic-colored wetsuit would work, or a paddle board painted with a “no sharks” icon. He said that Ralph Collier, an internationally recognized authority on Pacific coast white shark behavior, has repeatedly invited inventors of shark deterrents to swim with him off Guadalupe Island — a shark haven off the coast of Baja. Apparently no one has taken him up on the offer.
Howorth would like to organize a shark early warning system based on marine mammals with shark bites. “If there’s a recent attack, it’s important to let people know,” he explains. In particular, the marine institutes at Santa Barbara City College and UCSB have expressed interest in alerts for their divers. “We never know if we’re saving lives, but it doesn’t hurt to set up a system,” Howorth said.
I’m enthusiastic about the system’s potential. It’s just that I’m a little worried about my little board, with myself aboard, becoming the early warning. So for now my rule is, I’ll paddle board if there are at least 10 others in the water. Whatever the tiny odds of a shark encounter, they’re less than a tenth what they would have been had I been the only bait in the water.
Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist
Karen Telleen-Lawton is an eco-writer, sharing information and insights about economics and ecology, finances and the environment. Having recently retired from financial planning and advising, she spends more time exploring the outdoors — and reading and writing about it. The opinions expressed are her own.