City officials have decided it is appropriate to bury dead whale remains on the beaches of San Clemente.  They have buried oily whale intestines and remains that have washed on shore at T-Street beach and close to the pier.  Whale intestines are full of oil that will leech back into the sand and the water attracting predators.

 Please sign this petition and let City of San Clemente officials know that we do not want to attract more sharks to our beaches. The buried remains must be dug up and disposed of in the ocean or in a landfill. We cannot risk the safety of our residents and visitors with chumming the water.

Capt. Todd Mansur, a lead naturalist at Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching was interviewed by the LA Times and went on record stating:
"Burying the whales in the sandy beach is not an option, he said. A buried carcass decomposes and releases oil, and attracts sharks from several miles away, he said. A buried whale carcass takes years to decompose."

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-decomposing-whale-san-clemente-20160425-story.html

Article from Surfline: http://www.surfline.com/community/whoknows/whoknows.cfm?id=1066

Ralph S. Collier, from the Shark Research Committee stated,  " The shark sightings at San Onofre really started in November 2002. That is when several surfers contacted me to report encounters with what they thought were small white sharks while surfing Trail # 1. After several months of sighting and encounter reports and emails, I began to realize there was something unusual occurring at this location. In June 2003 I traveled to San Onofre Trail # 1 and interviewed a number of surfers and lifeguard personnel. It was during this visit that I learned a dead whale had washed ashore in November of 2002 and that it had been buried on the beach. Surfers informed me that at times it was possible to observe an 'oily slick' on the water that would be carried out to sea with the outgoing tides. Several individuals told me that they had to discard their wetsuits because the smell of this oil had penetrated the material and they could not remove it with any solvents. So the original sightings and increased frequency of white sharks at San Onofre could have been the result of the dead whale on the beach leaching decaying material into the water, which then attracted the white sharks from off shore. Whether this condition still exists is not determinable without specific water sampling."

In an article from Surfer Magazine:

http://www.surfermag.com/features/beached-whale-shark-attacks/#xQso2gDXzyThivWu.97

 Burying whales in the sand close to popular surf spots in the middle of white shark season is not so smart. In landed terms, it is the equivalent of placing a 70 foot pepperoni pizza between a Boy Scout troop and a den of hungry grizzly bears – in the spring…when the bears are hungry.

Read more at http://www.surfermag.com/features/beached-whale-shark-attacks/#5UoHZc2rEIYBo5BH.99

Please sign this petition and let your voice be heard!  Please plan on attending the City Council meeting this coming Tuesday, May 3rd and speaking to the city council regarding this safety matter. Please attend the meeting! You will have 3 minutes to speak and let your voice be heard.