No shark sightings off Southern Oregon coast

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An Oregon State Police photo shows a 12-foot great white shark brought into Depoe Bay by a fisherman who says the shark became entangled in a crab pot.

August 13, 2009

By Mark Freeman

Mail Tribune
776-4470
mfreeman@mailtribune.com

Southern Oregon so far has escaped the spate of shark sightings off the central and northern coasts last weekend.

A tuna fisherman says he captured a 12-foot great white shark in a crab pot at Depoe Bay, and Seaside police issued a warning to beachgoers after a shark was spotted off the surf line.

But that's not the case in Curry County, where sharkmania has yet to surface.

"I haven't heard anything about sharks," says Todd Confer, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's Gold Beach District fish biologist. "I don't think we've had a verified great white (sighting) here in a while."

Tuna anglers running out of Brookings, Gold Beach and Charleston have reported seeing blue sharks far offshore, but that's relatively common in the warm currents during summer months, Confer says.

Dick Teeny of Gresham says he was aboard his 20-foot recreational fishing boat when he tried to pull up a crab pot but discovered the dead 12-foot great white entangled in the line.

The shark has been confirmed as a great white and the Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Division says it's continuing an investigation into the creature's death.

The shark was seized and turned over the Hatfield Marine Science Center.

State police note that under state and federal law, it is unlawful to take or possess great white sharks. The case remains under investigation, says Capt. Walt Markee, who heads the OSP's Fish and Wildlife Division.

ODFW fish biologist Eric Schindler in Newport says there are always a few great whites hunting in waters off the Oregon Coast.

"We don't have enough information to know when they are here, but they are here," he says. "They've always been here, but unless one decides to take a bite at someone, it's pretty unlikely to be encountered."

On Sunday, police in Seaside drove up and down the beach and used loudspeakers to announce a shark sighting. Lt. Dave Ham said lifeguards saw a distinctive dorsal fin and a lifeguard came across a porpoise that had been bitten.

The Coast Guard also reported seeing a school of sharks near the mouth of the Columbia River. Those were likely blue sharks, according to Keith Chandler, manager of the Seaside Aquarium.

Rocky Mountain goats released in NE Oregon

State and federal wildlife biologists have released 18 Rocky Mountain goats into the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness Area of northeast Oregon's Umatilla National Forest as part of an ongoing effort to re-establish goats there.

The goats were captured in the Elkhorn Mountains, which has served as the source population for Rocky Mountain goat reintroduction efforts to other parts of the state.

The animals were fitted with radio-transmitting collars so their whereabouts can be tracked and then released into national forest land.

They were initially lured into a trap net by salt. Veterinarians were on hand to assess the captured animals' health, collect blood samples for disease screening and inoculated.

Reintroduction programs are funded in part by groups like the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep and the Safari Club International.

The first Rocky Mountain goat reintroduction in Oregon was in 1950 when five goats trapped on northern Washington's Chopala Mountain were released in the Wallowa Mountains. Since then, 16 other trapping and relocating efforts have resulted in goats being released in Oregon.

Goats remain the rarest game animal hunted in the state today, with 11 once-in-a-lifetime hunting tags available to hunters this year.

All controlled Rocky Mountain goats tags are "once in a lifetime," so once a hunter draws the tag, he or she may never draw it again.

Wildlife forensics expert to speak

The head of the national wildlife forensics laboratory in Ashland will be in Medford tonight to talk with local hunters about how the lab uses high-tech tactics to solve wildlife crimes.

Ken Goddard, who directs the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Forensics Laboratory, will be the featured speaker at the Rogue Valley Chapter meeting of the Oregon Hunters Association.

An item in the Aug. 6 edition of Outdoor Notebook listed an incorrect date for the meeting.

Goddard, who also writes wildlife-related mystery fiction books, will be the presenter at the chapter meeting at Bud & Mary's Esquire Room near the intersection of Central Avenue and Fifth Street in downtown Medford.

The chapter meeting begins with a 6 p.m. social hour; dinner is at 6:15 p.m. The dinner costs $10.

The meeting is open to the public.

Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail mfreeman@mailtribune.com.

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