Biologist: Swimmer Killed By Great White

Swimmers were warned to stay out of the surf along miles of beaches near San Diego Saturday after a fatal attack blamed on a great white shark.

Richard Rosenblatt, a professor emeritus of marine biology at Scripps Institution of Oceanography who examined David Martin’s body, said he believed the shark was a great white between 12 and 17 feet long, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Saturday.

The 66-year-old Solana Beach man was a member of the Triathlon Club of San Diego. The retired veterinarian was attacked Friday while swimming about 150 yards off Solana Beach in water 20 to 30 feet deep, officials said.

This is a tragic situation for Solana Beach and the surrounding areas and the county of San Diego, said Solana Beach Mayor Joe Kellejian.

Kellejian urged the public to listen to safety officers and stay out of the water, but added: We don’t want people to panic.

It was believed to be the area’s first shark attack fatality in about a half century, the Union-Tribune reported.

In what the newspaper called an unprecedented move, authorities warned the public against entering the Pacific Ocean from the northern part of Torrey Pines State Beach to South Carlsbad State Beach until Monday.