REGION: Researcher says autopsy confirms shark was great white

By CRAIG TENBROECK - Staff Writer | Saturday, April 26, 2008 8:48 PM PDT ∞

Ralph Collier, founder of the Shark Research Committee and author of 'Shark Attacks of the Twentieth Century,' sat in on the autopsy Saturday morning of shark attack victim Dave Martin. Photo by Craig TenBroeck - Staff Photographer

SAN DIEGO ---- A shark researcher who sat in on the autopsy Saturday morning of retired veterinarian David Martin confirmed initial suspicions that Martin's killer was a great white shark.

"Based on the evidence that we reviewed, I was able to determine that the shark was 15 to 16 feet long and, in fact, was a white shark," said Ralph Collier, president of the nonprofit Shark Research Committee and author of "Shark Attacks of the Twentieth Century."

Standing outside the San Diego County medical examiner's office, Collier, who has documented shark attacks for several decades, declined to discuss what was discovered during the autopsy that led to those conclusions.

"I can't go into that," he said, noting that an official autopsy report had not been completed.

But he described his level of certainly that the shark involved was a great white as "100 percent." "No doubt in my mind," said Collier, 63. "None."

The medical examiner's office said Saturday that Martin died from a loss of blood from the legs after a shark bite but did not confirm that the shark was a great white or release other details of the autopsy.

Martin, a longtime Solana Beach resident, was attacked around 7 a.m. Friday while swimming with a triathlon training group north of Fletcher Cove in Solana Beach. He was pulled from the surf by fellow swimmers and pronounced dead at 7:49 a.m.

Collier's determination that the rare attack was perpetrated by a great white echoed the assessment of Richard Rosenblatt, a professor emeritus with Scripps Institution of Oceanography, who examined Martin's body on Friday.

Rosenblatt estimated on the day of the attack that the shark was 12 to 17 feet long and said it "almost certainly" was a great white.

With the information available, Collier said, it's possible to make only general assumptions about the shark.

"Generally, sharks of that size are female, which means in this particular case, if we were to estimate the shark's age, it would probably be somewhere in the neighborhood of 17, maybe 20 years of age."

Less clear, however, was the shark's motivation, Collier said.

"There are more 10- and 12-foot white sharks off of the beaches up and down our coast than you can imagine," Collier said. "And they swim next to surfers and underneath swimmers all day long. And they’re not interested in us. They’re really not. What happened in this particular case? I won’t know what might have motivated the shark to strike him until after I’ve been able to speak to witnesses."

Collier, who lives in the San Fernando Valley, said he hopes to eventually talk to the other swimmers who were in the water during the attack, for his own research.

"My objective is to try to obtain as much data as possible so that, hopefully, we can learn something from this that might help curb these events in the future," he said.

Rosenblatt said Friday that the shark was probably looking for food when it attacked. Martin, who was wearing a wet suit, may have looked like a sea animal such as a seal.

Contact staff writer Craig TenBroeck at (760) 901-4062 or ctenbroeck@nctimes.com.

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20 comment(s)[-]Go to Top

uoa wrote on Apr 27, 2008 11:25 AM:Why does everyone always think sharks made a mistake when they bite humans. They are not that stupid.

Humanitarian wrote on Apr 27, 2008 3:14 PM:Wasn't the late Jacques Cousteau working on a wet suit that was made of linked/messed chain that was resistant against the "hydrolic" bite of a great white? Better wet suits need to be designed to protect people who can't stay out of the water.

Humanitarian wrote on Apr 27, 2008 3:32 PM:A great white can detect a drop of blood in a (?) 2-gal.(?) container of water for up to 3 miles which means they have a pretty good smeller or something. Seals and Sea Lions are their main diet. Humans and seals/sea lions do not remotely smell anything alike. There are many theories about why great whites attack humans. I think these big fishes are just vicious like grizzly bears and will attack anything when the mood hits them.

Joe from the Bronx wrote on Apr 27, 2008 6:31 PM:The wet suit made of meshed chain was created by Ron and Valerie Taylor. Famous Australian underwater photographers.

Here in the UK wrote on Apr 28, 2008 4:04 AM:Thats is why we have to educate idiots like Humanitarian and uoa. Sharks are not generally aggressive creatures, they are though excellent hunters. Unlike the human race that wil kill for the sake of killing or if they fear a creature

Patrick wrote on Apr 28, 2008 5:53 AM:My sympathies go out to the Martin Family.

A few things worth mentioning that might have contributed to the attack:

-Great Whites predominantly feed in the morning hours.
- A seal was spotted in the area the day before. Seals being a favorite meal of Great Whites.

People need to realize that Great Whites migrate up and down the Pacific Coast and should not be surprised when one does attack. Female Whites breed in Mexican waters, so White sightings in San Diego should not be surprising either. After all, we are in their domain.







Kurt wrote on Apr 28, 2008 7:30 AM:My sympathies and prayers go out to the family as well.
I must comment on the fact that he was swimming at 7am. I thought I once heard that the worst times to be in the water was 2 hr. after sun up and two our before sun down as these are the times that most sharks are in feeding mode.

Cal Kid wrote on Apr 28, 2008 10:25 AM:My thoughts and prayers go out to this family. It would be interesting to find out why this large shark was so close. I used to think that the kelp beds were responsible for keeping most large sharks away from the beaches. If this is true it would be interesting to find out if the kelp harvester had gone through recently or if the beds are dying out due to global warming, whic would allow for more large predators to come closer to the beach.

Concerned- wrote on Apr 28, 2008 10:55 AM:I would like to hear from the other swimmers in the group. Some of them obviously reacted valiantly by bringing the victim in to shore. Kudos to them, and condolences to the family. Surfing since 1960, C-1.

Robb wrote on Apr 28, 2008 12:06 PM:"Why does everyone always think sharks made a mistake when they bite humans. They are not that stupid. "

Why do people comment on things they don't know anything about? That's a better question to ask. IF sharks wanted to "attack" people, don't you think people wouldn't be seen in the ocean again? It seems that sharks have ample opportunity to attack humans given that millions of humans are in oceans on a daily basis and swimming amongst sharks. I think the average amount of reported shark bites annually worldwide is around 80. If people want to avoid sharks, they should stay out of the sharks world- the oceans, otherwise you assume the risk.

I'm sure the victim knew of the risk and accepted it. Sympathies to his family and friends as well.

earl wrote on Apr 28, 2008 1:08 PM:I'm sure the shark was an illegal. I just know it! Deport the shark!

surfer wrote on Apr 28, 2008 1:11 PM:its there waters we are just playing in it,wonder if this shark was tagged and if so would they tell us if so,with monitoring,sonar,sattelite,spy tech. what do they know ,that we dont

Adam wrote on Apr 30, 2008 2:39 AM:I wonder why some of you call people with different points of view "idiots". Respect each other, folks.

Statistics wrote on Apr 30, 2008 8:30 AM:More peope die yearly of dog attacks than die in ten years of shark attacks. We wouldn't recommend avoiding dogs by staying in doors. Yes...7am bad. Yes...the female great whites come here to "pup". Just all around bad timing. God bless.

The Hairy Beast wrote on Apr 30, 2008 9:45 AM:There were reports of sea lions drive out of the water and onto the beach. Undoubtedly the White was hunting those waters.

Whites also have superb sensory equipment - the same number of rods and cones in their eyes as us - meaning they can see fine detail and color. Humans swimming really don't look or smell much like seals but they thrash the water (which makes attractive sounds) and they are warm-blooded. She likely stalked the group for a while before nailing one of them.

My guess is that the shark simply decided to take a run at the guy. Perhaps she hadn't been feeding well and was just hungry enough to try to eat something else. This wasn't an exploratory bite - she lifted him out of the water - hit him hard, just as she would have hit a seal.

We'll never know the reason this shark attacked but it is obvious she chose to do so. This was no 'accident'.

not our world wrote on Apr 30, 2008 10:08 AM:The sea is filled with predators. On land, we have the advantage but in the water we are pretty vulnerable. Does that mean we should not swim or surf or dive? No. We just need to be careful of our surroundings. Adventure sports types are well aware of the risks. Mountain climbing, rafting, cycling, hiking in areas wih wildlife are ways to experience the wonder of our beautiful little planet. Unfortunately, with this sort of adventure comes some risk.
I would rather die doing something I love than to keel over on my desk at work.
I don't want my epitath to be "he died making someone else rich".
May you always walk in sunshine.

Ian wrote on May 1, 2008 8:16 AM:I've been in a cage around many GWs and none seemed the faintest bit interested in people. But what if this swimmer and the shark just happened to cross paths. I could easily see the shark mistaking the identity or just taking a curiosity bite before relizing this wasn't it natural prey. The clarity of the water should also be questioned.

USA wrote on May 9, 2008 8:25 AM:To 'Here in the UK' : Sharks are not aggressive? What are you talking about? You need re-education and so does your country if you believe that. Please come to the USA and swim our west cost beaches.

JAWS wrote on May 11, 2008 6:12 AM:Bla Bla bla, who cares! Yes if a shark is hungry it is going to eat period. If that means a leg or arm around dinner or breakfast time it's going to eat. Was it a mistake? No, it wasn't. Do sharks find human flesh appealing? No they don't and usually leave after the first taste. There are people that have been studying sharks for a long time and brainwash themselves into acually thinking sharks don't hunt/stalk people on purpose. They see better than we do under water. We would do the same thing. If a human being in a survival situation had nothing to eat, deer, turkey etc. we are going to start eating grub worms, ant's and whatever else we can find.

Steve ... wrote on Jun 7, 2008 5:27 AM:Sharks, bears, lions and alligators are opportunistic feeders. Get over it.

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