A tagged great white shark nicknamed Tough Guy has been tracked to an area where at least three attacks on surfers have occurred since 2010.
The male shark, which measured 12 feet when he was tagged in November 2021, pinged this week off Minuteman Beach, 20 miles north of Surf Beach.
Both are on Vandenberg Air Force Base, north of Santa Barbara. Both are open to the public.
Fatal shark attacks occurred at Surf Beach almost exactly two years apart in October 2010 and 2012. A nonfatal bite, also attributed to a white shark, occurred in the same area in 2014.
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Tough Guy was tagged by the Marine Conservation Science Institute, run by Michael Domeier.
On Tuesday, Domeier posted Tough Guy’s position via Instagram and asked his followers: “Who can name this notorious beach? Our tagged great white shark, Tough Guy, pinged from here a few days ago.”
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Some of Domeier’s followers are familiar with the area. One correctly guessed Minuteman Beach, while others knew of the area’s shark-attack history.
“The month of October has a reputation at Surf Beach,” one follower wrote, adding crying-face emojis for emphasis.
“Sharktober is real around here,” reads another comment.
Vandenberg is about 30 miles north of Point Conception, a feeding area for white sharks and a tagging area for the Marine Conservation Science Institute.
Great white sharks tagged by MCSI off California and Mexico can be tracked by the public via the Expedition White Shark App.
As of Wednesday morning, Tough Guy’s position off Minuteman Beach had not changed.
–Generic white shark image courtesy of Michael Domeier