A 50-foot fin whale carcass that washed ashore Monday at Point Loma in San Diego will be towed to sea Wednesday afternoon, and be used by researchers as a great white shark magnet.
The Marine Conservation Science Institute stated on Facebook that it will tow the carcass offshore during the afternoon high tide and hope that it attracts great white sharks for tagging purposes.
“We will tow it offshore and then babysit it while we wait for sharks to find us,” the announcement reads. “When that happens we hope to tag adult females that are in the area for pupping. This will be the first attempt to tag pupping females in Southern California.”
Apparently, the city of San Diego decided that turning the carcass over to the MCSI, which would handle the removal duties, was its best option.
Great white sharks are believed by some scientists to give birth in or near Southern California coastal waters.
Juvenile white sharks are seen or encountered fairly regularly by beachgoers and fishermen. They feed in nearshore waters off Southern California and Baja California until they become large enough to begin preying on seals and sea lions, mostly at or near island or coastal rookeries.
In an earlier Facebook post, as the partially-submerged carcass remained on a Point Loma beach, the MCSI stated: "Caution in San Diego. At this time of year, this dead whale could attract very large, female white sharks into the area."
The group is expected to tow the carcass about 20 miles offshore.
–Pete Thomas
