Sea Lions See a Net Gain When Fishermen Net Shark

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water (perhaps partly because we told you so in this space a couple of weeks ago) comes news of the capture of a 17-foot Great White shark about 15 miles off Santa Monica.

We had reported that several nervous beach-goers had been spotting fins in the water off Westside beaches. But Los Angeles County lifeguards assured everyone not to worry--it was just schools of dolphin.

OK.

But what got snagged in San Pedro fisherman Joe Caruso’s gill net the other day didn’t look anything like Flipper.

The shark, caught by Caruso and his crew aboard the 42-foot Horizon, weighed in at two tons, making it one of the largest Great Whites ever caught in these waters, according to local biologists and fishermen.

It is illegal to capture Great Whites unless it is for scientific or educational purposes. Fishermen who make such inadvertent catches--this one died in the net as Caruso’s crew tried to free it--must dispose of them at sea or bury them, said a spokesman for the Fish and Game Department. (If the shark is alive, it must be given to a research institution or released.)

Caruso said he plans to dump it back in the ocean sans its liver, which a local biologist retrieved for research.

Experts said swimmers have little to worry about unless they are swimming 15 to 20 miles offshore; such sharks almost never venture close to bathing areas.

Some creatures out there apparently were overjoyed at the death of Jaws. Caruso said the sea lions around his boat looked especially relieved when they saw the shark entangled in the net.

Said Caruso: “They started making love to each other, kissing and whatever. It was something unusual.”

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POLITICAL NOTES: Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) recently stumped for Rancho Palos Verdes Councilwoman Susan Brooks, who is trying to unseat Rep. Jane Harman (D-Rolling Hills).

At a fund-raiser Saturday at the Manhattan Beach Country Club, Dole made every effort to link Harman, whose district includes Venice, Marina del Rey and Westchester, to President Clinton. Republican challengers across the country have been using a similar strategy as Clinton’s popularity sags.

Dole held up a Time magazine photo of a smiling Harman and Clinton after the House narrowly voted to back his deficit reduction plan last year. Brooks has started using the picture in her campaign literature.

“It’s bad enough you had to vote for it, but don’t look happy about it,” Dole told the crowd of 135 people, most of whom paid $250 a plate. Dole gave Brooks a check for $2,500.

Harman, meanwhile, escalated her attacks on Brooks at a fund-raiser with five other women members of the House’s freshman class.

Harman chided Brooks on several issues and questioned her commitment to abortion rights. Many Republicans say Harman gained crossover votes two years ago because her opponent, then-Los Angeles City Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores, did not favor abortion rights.

“My opponent in this race opposes federal funding of abortions for poor women, opposes the assault weapons ban, opposes the crime bill and was once quoted as saying that Congress doesn’t have any jurisdiction over abortion,” Harman said at the Ritz-Carlton in Marina del Rey. “She’s wrong on all counts.”