County/Cal Fire said Monday that a shark was spotted in the waters off Cambria on Sunday afternoon.
It was seen about 3 p.m. about 50 yards off Leffingwell Landing. The agency has deemed this to be a credible sighting, according to a news release issued Monday afternoon.
The shark was believed to be about 18 feet long.
Shark advisories will be posted along beaches from Cambria north to the San Simeon area, according to Cal Fire.
Beaches are to remain open, the agency said.
Shark experts note that despite the frequency of sightings, attacks are uncommon.
According to the International Shark Attack File — a project of the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida that tracks shark attack statistics — the odds of being attacked are 1 in 11.5 million, and the likelihood of being killed is less than 1 in 264.1 million.
For comparison, the odds of winning the California Lottery’s Mega Millions game are 1 in about 176 million. The odds of getting struck by lightning are 1 in 750,000.
— Antonio A. Prado
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