AVILA BEACH - An Avila Beach fisherman saw fear in a harbor seal's eyes just before a great white shark chomped its tail inches from his boat Saturday morning.

Joe "Chovy" Dearinger was fishing for live bait between the Avila Beach and Unocal piers when he spotted the 18- to 20-foot shark breach as it lunged for the leaping seal 500 yards offshore.

Port San Luis Harbor District closed the waters at Avila Beach, Fishermen's Beach and Olde Port Beach just after the sighting was reported around 10 a.m. Operations Manager Casey Nielsen said the water would remain closed until further notice.

"It takes a lot to get me nervous and I was like, 'Oh my God,'" said Dearinger, a commercial fisherman at Avila Bay for six years. "It took me 15 minutes to calm down."

He recounted the sighting while unloading anchovies just off the pier at Port San Luis.

Just as Dearinger was about to drop and drag his fishing net by hand, he saw two harbor seals jump out of the 35-foot deep water - an unusual occurrence. Another seal leaped while the great white shark surfaced to grab the tail of its prey.

"As the seal hit the water, the shark had its tail section in his mouth," Dearinger explained. "It was like something you see on National Geographic."

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The fisherman saw the entire shark - including its large teeth gripping the seal and 21/2-foot high dorsal fin - as he stood at the rear of the boat, net in hand.

He narrowly missed catching the shark in his net. If the shark had become entangled, it could have rolled the 45-foot boat, Mello Boy, according to boat owner Deke Wells.

In his 15 years of fishing at Avila Bay, Wells has never spotted a great white shark. Neither has partner Dearinger.

Wells said the splash created by the seal and shark was so large he believed the culprit was a humpback whale.

"That was a big damn splash."

The fishermen speculated the shark could have been the same that killed Nipomo resident Deborah Blanche Franzman last Tuesday. Besides the shark they saw Saturday, they spied one hours after Franzman was attacked.

"He could be coming back to the scene of the crime," Dearinger said. "He knows there is food."

Both fishermen said an exploding seal and sea lion population is attracting one or more great white sharks to the bay.

"We've been saying it was inevitable," Dearinger said.

They believe the food source will cause a shark to stay.

"He ain't going anywhere," Dearinger said.

The fisherman urged closure of all area beaches and suggested a boat patrol between piers. Dearinger also suggested the Port San Luis Harbor Patrol study movement and activity of seals and sea lions.

"If you keep an eye on the seals, you'll see a shark," he said.

Just before the shark surfaced Saturday, Dearinger said the seals acted skittish, keeping their heads above water instead of looking down for fish. After the seal attack, the remaining seals scattered.

"You can tell when seals are looking for bait and when they are scared," Wells said.

An ultimate solution could be controlling the seal and sea lion population, said Dearinger. He explained the creatures are now breeding in the bay, as opposed to the wild. The new additions are crowding onto the back of boats and sinking docks, said the fishermen.

"There are way too many seals here," said Wells, who recently fenced off his dock to prevent sleeping seals and sea lions. Still, they attempt to board.

Dearinger and Wells will continue fishing for bait in the bay, although they admitted they will pay close attention to the seals and keep their hands in the boat.

"We sure as hell will be keeping our eyes open," Wells said.

* Staff writer Emily Slater can be reached at 489-4206, Ext. 5012, or by e-mail at eslater@pulitzer.net.

Aug. 24, 2003