Southern California beachgoers warned of spike in shark attacks this summer amid cut of research funding

Beachgoers from Santa Barbara to San Diego should be wary of a potential increase in shark attacks along the Southern California coastline, after a renowned program that monitors sharks' whereabouts may cease.

The Shark Lab at California State University at Long Beach voiced concern that its state funding will be cut by June, and it is actively seeking to raise $7 million to keep its programs afloat.

"It's getting pretty serious," Shark Lab Director Chris Lowe told ABC7.

"We have enough money to carry us through June, but after that, if we don't get more funding, we're going to have to pull out all the equipment out of the water," Lowe said. "We won't be able to monitor sharks along California anymore."

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A great white shark swims in the waters off of California.  (Reinhard Dirscherl/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

The Shark Lab monitors hundreds of adult and juvenile sharks that swim along the Southern California coast.

The lab also issues an instant warning to lifeguards if a shark wanders too close to the shoreline.

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The Shark Lab, which began in 1966, has an impressive repertoire of receivers, buoys and underwater monitors that allow them to track and tag sharks.

A shark attack sign is posted at the Sand Dollar Beach section of Manresa State Beach in Watsonville, Calif., after a surfer was killed by a shark on May 9, 2020. (Karl Mondon/MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty Images)

The Shark Lab director voiced his disappointment that the loss of federal funding for the program may force the program to shutter its doors.

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"Everything that we learned from our science gets out to the public, and this is unique," Lowe said. "It's considered one of the best shark mitigation programs in the world."