A photo taken off Encinitas, California has been making news as of late. San Diego’s CBS 8 reports that the photo was taken off Swamis beach, and that a “local shark expert who confirmed that the shark in the photo is a 10 to 12 foot great white.”

While the CBS 8 report seems to take the stance that the image does, in fact, show a large shark, Encinitas Lifeguard Sgt. Robert Veria told CBS 8 that he believes the image is that of a surfer performing a duck dive and that the “fin” seen in the picture is merely the bent leg of the surfer. Additionally, none of the surfers in the water, many of whom appear to be in close proximity to the shape that is being referred to as a shark, reported seeing a shark.

A report on the photo also appeared on The Early Show which airs nationwide on CBS.

Is this an image of a white shark’s caudal fin or just a surfer’s leg? Feel free to sound off in the comments, if you have an opinion on the photo.

According to the Monterey Bay Aquarium website, they have a new juvenile white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) on display. The male shark was apparently intentionally caught last month near Malibu, California by commercial fishermen using a purse seine net with the assistance of a spotter plane. The shark, which is the sixth white shark to be put on display at the MBA was put on display in the aquarium’s Open Sea exhibit yesterday.

Unfortunately, the last white shark on display at MBA was released only to end up dying in fisherman’s gill-net in Mexico months after her release.

Video by YouTube user daveshooey.

NBC Los Angeles conducted an interview with Michael Castillo, the fisherman who caught and killed a shark from Huntington Beach Pier last month. The shark in question was a juvenile great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), which is a protected species in California waters. However, Castillo believed he had caught a shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus), a species unprotected by law.

A warden from the California Department of Fish and Game examined Castillo’s catch and also identified the shark as a mako. However, the warden took teeth samples from the shark which later confirmed the species as being a white shark. After the shark was positively identified, the warden returned and confiscating the shark.

Castillo was not issued a citation for the white shark. However, NBC LA reports that DFG officials are still investigating the catch, and it will be up to the Orange County District Attorney’s office to decide whether charges will be filed. Castillo maintains that he did not know his catch was a protected white shark.

USA Today reports that a publicity photographer was injured on the set of “Shark Night 3D” when he was accidentally bitten by an animatronic great white shark featuring a set of real white shark teeth (as seen in the video above). The 12-foot mechanical shark, created by Oscar-winning special-effects Walt Conti, has a full set of white shark teeth that were acquired from the California Academy of Sciences. The shark weighs 1,000lbs and requires two remote operators to control it.

In addition to the mechanical white shark, a 13-foot animatronic hammerhead shark used in the film was also equipped with a full set of genuine shark teeth. Actor Sinqua Walls told USA Today that he cut his hands on the hammerhead shark while filming a fight scene with it.

Australia’s Ten News recently ran a feature on shark research being performed in Australian waters. The report focuses on tracking data of a female white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) named “Rachel,” who was tagged off Gold Coast, Queensland last June.

Since being tagged she has traveled south along the coast through New South Wales water and down toward Victoria waters before turning around heading north. According to researcher Jonathan Werry, the tagged white shark has traveled between 1,500-2,000 kilometers.

According to the report, the research team has tagged a total of 49 “dangerous” sharks, including multiple bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas). The team is studying the movement patterns of the sharks with the aim of protecting bathers.

Shark Defenders have posted the trailer above for a documentary titled “Shark Hope” to their YouTube channel. According to the video description the documentary is a collaboration between Walker Films, Ratu Manoa Rasagitale, the Coral Reef Alliance and Pew Environment Group. The documentary focuses on efforts to create Fiji National Shark Sanctuary.

CBS 8 is reporting that a 2-mile stretch of Mission Beach in San Diego was closed yesterday following a shark sighting by a veteran lifeguard. The lifeguard reported seeing a dorsal fin approximately 18″ in height, which he believed to belong to a white shark.

The beach reopened this morning. However, CBS-8 is now reporting that a second shark sighting occurred at Mission Beach this morning.

Thanks to some “Shop-Fu” and Redditor throwawaystress, a digitally manipulated photo of a white shark swimming down a flooded street in Puerto Rico has been making the rounds on the web and even duped Miami’s 7 News, which reported on the photo not realizing it was a joke (video uploaded by YouTube user jernestine)

The story about the hoax photo even founds its way to a blog article at The Washington Post, which revealed the original source of the shark image used in the composite work.

If the shark in the photo looks familiar, it’s because it was lifted from a rather famous photo taken by Thomas P. Peschak that shows a white shark following a kayaker off the coast of South Africa. The photo has been published by multiple media outlets including Africa Geographic and BBC Wildlife to name a few. You can check out the story behind the original photograph on Peschak’s website.

A quick update on yesterday morning’s post about a juvenile great white shark being caught at Huntington Beach Pier in California…

The L.A. Times reports that California Department of Fish and Game officials have seized the shark. Oddly enough, the warden dispatched to the scene initially identified the shark as a “mako” (presumably Isurus oxyrinchus) and let the fishermen in possession of the shark go, according to the report. The article then goes on to say that “after a second look” the warden realized that the shark was in fact a white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) and “caught up with the men” and seized the shark.

According to Pete Thomas’ Outdoors blog, the DFG’s Capt. Dan Sforza said that they have identified who caught the shark and are investigating the catch. Sforza also added that “nobody is going to get away with anything.”

WARNING: Video features offensive language and graphic content

YouTube user ograza13 recently uploaded the video above which shows a young great white shark being caught, according to the video description, from Huntington Beach Pier.

It should be noted that fishermen involved apparently thought it was a mako, as you can hear one of them say “c’mon mako!” Based on the title of the video, it can be assumed that YouTube user ograza13 still wasn’t sure of the species, when the video was posted. However, it’s quite clear from the video that this is a white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), which is a protected species in California waters.