Monterey is at the southern end
of a 120-some mile stretch of California coast known as the Red
Triangle. This is because it accounts for about 45% of all
recorded attacks by white sharks in the WORLD. A number of
attacks have occurred within the Monterey area, including some on
divers.
The simple answer to this is "Stay on the beach." There is a lot of speculation out there about when and where you're most likely to be attacked. Most of it is just plain bullshit. There does not appear to be any pattern as to time of day, visibility conditions, or any of the other typical factors people worry about. What it really comes down to is that there simply aren't enough data to make a good analysis of when and where they'll attack a person.
One major fallacy that tends to persist is that white sharks don't enter the kelp forest, so that if you stay in the kelp, you're safe. Most of the actual sightings that I know of have taken place IN the kelp. In 1992, a large white shark was seen actually attacking a sea otter inside a kelp forest. Get real. The kelp is not an impediment to such animals. I've seen WHALES in the kelp. Surely a shark half that size would have no problem.
Another is that the sharks usually attack people on the surface. While it is known that white sharks hunt marine mammals by ambushing them from below, many of these attacks happen while the prey animal is submerged. Besides, it is known that white sharks also attack prey, especially fish and squid, on the bottom. Gut content analysis has turned up a number of species that live only near the substrate. Also, of the three recent attacks on divers in Monterey, two occurred while the victim was submerged.
This is not to say that being on or near the surface doesn't increase your risk. White sharks do hunt by swimming near the bottom, looking up to profile prey against the surface. Swimming on the surface or mid-water is putting youself in their favored feeding zone. Just don't kid yourself into believing that being near the bottom will prevent you from being attacked. And don't let a fear of sharks scare you into cutting a decompression or safety stop short. Certainly if you have reason to believe that a shark is nearby (like, you just saw it or a dead seal hemoraging from a massive bite wound) you should balance the risks. At any other time you're much more likely to suffer a decompression injury than a shark bite.
There's also a lot of misunderstanding about the "seal" factor. I've heard both points of view: "Sharks eat seals, so don't dive near seals", and "The seals know when the sharks are around, so if they are in the water, it's safe". Let's take the second argument first, since it's the one that's most obviously a load of BS. If the seals always knew when to get out of the area, the sharks would starve to death, or at least never eat seals.
The first argument is a little harder to determine the validity of. White sharks do eat pinnipeds, and are known to frequent certain haul-out areas. On the other hand, the major rookery area for pinnipeds in Monterey is definitely the Coast Guard breakwater, which is also the most heavily dived site in the area, and I have never heard of even a shark sighting around there, let alone an attack. Most of my diving takes place in the Hopkins Marine Life Refuge, another area with a large population of pinnipeds, and while I know white sharks sometimes frequent the area (a 12-footer was caught there in 1994, and at least 2 others were sighted there the same year), neither I nor any one I know of who dives there has ever had a problem with them.
Actually, it's hard to dive around Monterey without being near pinnipeds. We have a large number of both Harbor Seals and California Sea Lions in the area. I've seen one or the other, if not both, during dives at practically every site in the Monterey area. There are certainly areas where white sharks stake out pinniped populations, and where I personally would never dive, such as AŅo Nuevo and The Farallons. But the same does not appear to apply to Monterey. In fact, people worried about dangerous marine animals might want to take note that a woman was killed, and her husband injured, while diving last year, due to an encounter with a sea lion.
That fatal encounter with the sea lion was attributed to spear fishing, and panic. The animal was apparently trying to get the wounded fish the couple was carrying when it slammed into them knocking masks and regulators loose. Also, of the three recent attacks by sharks on divers here, one did involve a diver who was spear fishing.
I'm not about to go off on some tirade about the evils of spearing fish. Personally, I'm neutral on the subject. But if you're going to do it, use some common sense. Bleeding, injured fish are going to attract predators. Don't carry them right on your waist, and get them out of the water as soon as possible.
In the overall scheme of things, it's really nothing to worry about. White sharks are actually not very common. Most of the people I know who have been diving this area for years have never even seen one. The chance of you being attacked is so small as to be almost nonexistent. But it IS possible.
The simple fact of the matter is that the sharks are out there. Despite the fact that you may only be a few yards from busy streets and tourist shops, once you enter the water, you're in the last great untamed wilderness in this country. And there are big predators still around. You're not likely to meet one, and if you do, you're not likely to be killed (California averages about 1 attack per year, and 1 fatality per decade), but the only sure way to avoid it is to stay out of the water.
Here are some other sites dealing with Mr. G. W.:
Another good site is Fiona's Shark Page, which includes about the most complete list of links to shark-related sites on the web.
Ben Roesch also has a good shark page, A Masterpiece of Evolution.
Detailed accounts of all attacks by white sharks that have been recorded in the Monterey area.