Pacifica beaches reopened after weekend shark attack

PACIFICA. Calif. - Gray Whale Cove and Montara state beaches reopened on Monday morning after park officials hadn't seen any shark activity for the last 48 hours.

The Pacifica beaches had been closed after a great white shark bit a 35-year-old surfer in the leg on Saturday. 

His injuries were not life-threatening and he was able to swim to shore at Grey Whale Cove State Beach, about 18 miles south of San Francisco, where he received medical aid, San Mateo County Sheriff’s Lt. Eamonn Allen said.

The man said he believed he was bitten by a 6- to 8-foot-long great white shark, which sunk its teeth into his leg 10 times. 

Authorities say the surfer had on a wetsuit and experts say the appearance from a shark’s vantage point below may have been the motivation for what they call a shark investigation.

A Stanford study said there is a 1 in a 17-million chance to have a shark encounter in California waters, officials said. 

"It is very surprising because we’ve been coming here since we were kids and we’ve never ever heard of encountered anything like that," said Ruben Salazar, visiting from Merced County.