Officials Warn Of Uptick In Stingray Injuries In Seal Beach: Report

SEAL BEACH, CA — Lifeguard officials are warning swimmers and anyone else going into the ocean in Seal Beach to be cautious of stingrays, according to a news report from the Los Angeles Times.

There has been an uptick in stings from the sea creature as of late, according to the news report. The number of people being stung has gone from about once a day to to about 10 per day and as high as 15 per day, lifeguard officials told the LA Times.

We had a long period with not much surf, so there wasn't a lot of swell in the water, and when there isn't a lot of water movement, the ocean gets kind of flat," Nicholas Bolin, Seal Beach marine safety lieutenant, told the LA Times. "That draws the stingrays closer to shore."

Seal Beach was given the nickname "Ray Bay" in the early 2000s due to its unusual number of stings that happened each year.

Research by Cal State Long Beach Professor and Director of the university's renowned Shark Lab, Dr. Chris stingrays were drawn to Seal Beach waters due to warm waters caused by a nearby power plant.

The power plant used seawater to cool its machinery and then dumped it back into the ocean, causing an increase in the water's temperature.

Although the stingrays in the area are not naturally aggressive, they still use their tail spine as a defense mechanism, including on human feet.

Experts recommend people do the "stingray shuffle," a foot shuffling movement along the bottom of the ocean that causes the sea creature to swim away from the area, to avoid the risk of being stung.

Read more from the Los Angeles Times.