Renowned CSU Long Beach Shark Lab invites more than 2,000 visitors for hands-on learning experience

Despite plenty of research, there's still a lot of mystery surrounding sharks. And that's where the Shark Lab at Cal State Long Beach comes in.

The lab celebrated their annual Sharks at the Beach event Saturday and invited the public in to learn more about their groundbreaking research.

"When we started this program, we knew outreach was critical and why not? Getting people on campus has been so important, and we get to showcase everything without dragging it all over the country," said Chris Lowe, a marine biology professor and director of the Shark Lab.

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"For us, this is great," Lowe added. "They get to come on campus, they get to see the Shark Lab. We have live sharks on campus. How many campuses can say that?"

From tanks with sharks to high-tech equipment, it was a hands-on education of the world-renowned lab.

More than 2,000 people turned out to see how it works and to learn more about what the lab is researching.

The number of great white sharks along the Southern California shore is soaring. ABC7's Leanne Suter set out with a team of researchers to find out what's bringing them here, and what it means for those taking to the water.

ABC7's Leanne Suter hosted a Q&A session with student scientists and the head of the Shark Lab, Chris Lowe, as visitors learned all about great white sharks.

The team has tagged more than 200 juvenile sharks, tracking their movements and behavior.

The number of great white sharks along the Southern California shore is increasing. Researchers at the Shark Lab say it's due largely to conservation and a dramatic increase in their favorite food - stingrays.

Their cutting-edge work is now in jeopardy as the state has cut their funding due to the state budget deficit.

"If we don't get more money by September we're going to have to start pulling equipment out of the water, and I have to lay off my staff," Lowe said. "And that means pretty much rolling up the carpets, and I don't want to do that because it took a lot of effort and money to get started."

The Shark Lab, considered one of the best shark mitigation programs in the world, needs $500,000 to be able to continue its work, which helps save the sharks and keeps the hundreds of thousands who use our shore safe.