Shark attacks swimmers in Del Mar, beaches to reopen Tuesday – NBC 7 San Diego

A portion of a beach in Del Mar where a man was bitten by a shark on Sunday is scheduled to reopen Tuesday morning.

According to the City of Del Mar, the incident occurred around 9:00 a.m. about 100 yards offshore from the Beach Safety Center on 17th Street.

The victim, a 46-year-old man, was bitten on the torso, left arm and hand. These are serious injuries, but not life-threatening, according to city officials. An ambulance took him to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla.

He swam in a group of about a dozen ocean swimmers who meet regularly in Del Mar to train.

Jenna Veal, a friend of the victim who was just feet away from the attack, told NBC’s “TODAY” that the victim punched the shark in the face.

“He was incredibly conscious and brave. I mean, he was really fighting for his life on several fronts today, starting with being bumped and bitten by the shark and then punching it in the face and then he was still able to call for help,” the eyewitness said. “Then once we got all the way to shore, he was able to answer questions. Where we were, what the date was. He said, ‘Could you call my wife? Here’s her phone number.'”

Lifeguards posted signs and closed Del Mar beaches to surfing and swimming within a one-mile radius in both directions from the incident site – roughly from 6th Street to North Beach – and notified neighboring jurisdictions following shark attack protocols developed by the California Marine Safety Chiefs Association and the Shark Lab at California State University Long Beach.

The beach closure will remain in effect until Tuesday, 9:00 a.m.

Del Mar is known for its large population of juvenile great white sharks, but it is still unclear whether the attack involved this species of shark.

“This is the second time in about a year and a half here in Del Mar, so not a good day for marine lovers,” Edelbrock said. “If we, like everyone else, have been paying attention over the last 4+ years between here and Torrey Pines and like in the Black’s (Beach) area, we’ve seen quite a few juvenile great white sharks in the area.”

In November 2022, Lyn Jutronich was swimming with her swimming partner when she was bitten in the thigh by a shark. She was injured but survived.

Also in 2022, on Christmas Eve, a surfer was attacked and killed by a great white shark in the Northern California city of Morro Bay.

Last week, a stretch of beach in San Clemente, north of San Diego County, was closed due to what authorities called the presence of aggressive sharks.