There was an awe-inspiring battle of giants last week off the end of the pier at Goleta Beach. There were teeth, blood muscle and fury in an explosion of food chain violence that resulted for a meal for one critter and the end of the line for another.
Goleta Bay is a healthy and vibrant place for critters and will become even more so when Fish Reef Project gets the funding needed to permit and build a kelp restoration reef complex. You can help by visiting the website and contributing.
Goleta Pier is probably the best shore-based fishery on the coast for thresher shark, and there is usually a cadre of thresher fishing specialists at the end of the pier soaking mackerel baits in mid-column.
When the shark war occurred, an angler was hooked up with a large thresher and had skillfully brought it to the surface. Soon he would be able to gaff it with a pier gaff and haul it up on the pier for some delicious thresher steaks for the family table.
Suddenly, the water exploded as a huge mako shark — estimated at nearly 14 feet — pounced on the thresher and bit down on the narrow part of its body just above the long scimitar-shaped tail.
The thresher went ballistic and tried to pull free. That wasn’t going to happen because that mako had buried its teeth deep and was violently thrashing the thresher while shaking its head to saw those impressive teeth deeper and deeper.
Soon the mako had completely severed the thresher’s body and was munching on the tail. The mako could relax now because without its tail the thresher was not able to swim away and was slowly sinking out. The mako would make multiple attacks and finish off as much of the thresher as it could stuff into its large tummy.
All the while, shark anglers were swinging their pier gaffs in hopes of hooking the thresher and pulling up and away from the mako. They were not able to hit their mark and it is a good thing they didn’t connect with the mako or there might have been paramedics rushing out onto the pier, followed a while later by engineers to assess damage to the pier. That mako was a large and powerful beast.
It was just another day in the food chain. Wild critters do not have supermarkets, they must kill to eat. I hope our species never loses the ability to go afield and feed ourselves.
— Capt. David Bacon operates WaveWalker Charters and is president of SOFTIN Inc., a nonprofit organization providing seafaring opportunities for those in need. Visit softininc.blogspot.com to learn more about the organization and how you can help. Click here to read previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.
