Overview

• Jens Heller was bitten on the board but escaped injury when a likely juvenile white shark struck about 100 yards offshore Saturday afternoon.
• California State Parks closed the beach for two days and cleared the water after confirming bite marks consistent with a shark attack.
• Department of Fish and Wildlife personnel collected DNA swabs from Heller’s surfboard to help identify the shark species.
• Shark encounters in California are extremely rare, averaging fewer than two unprovoked attacks per year over the past decade.
• Heller said he plans to continue surfing and described the incident as a curiosity bite rather than a full-force attack.