Whale Shark Sightings in Southern California

Due to the El Niños weather this year, there have been rare whale shark sightings off of the coast of southern California. Recently, a pilot flying between Malibu and Santa Barbra recorded a singular whale shark swimming through the waters. As Carl Sbarounis stated to KTLA, “A friend of mine found this whale shark while he was out scouting, and I was nearby, so I went over and grabbed my camera and, with my airplane, flew circles around the shark." Now, as of September 14, a fishing boat out of Newport Beach came across a close encounter with a whale shark near San Clemente Island.  Dr. Chris Lowe at California State University's Shark Lab told KTLA that “When we have these strong El Niños, we get these subtropical visitors that come up from Mexico, which include whale sharks and manta rays and smooth hammerheads. We’ll even occasionally get bull sharks and tiger sharks.” This El Niño winter may bring more intriguing creatures to our southern California coast.

The unusually warm waters in the tropical pacific ocean are causing the sea levels to rise, which may bring us sickle-fin devil rays, hammerhead sharks, juvenile whale sharks, endangered olive ridley sea turtles, round stingrays flocking in shallow surf zones, yellow-bellied sea snakes, mahi-mahi, bullet tuna, and longfinned bigeye. These sightings are exciting for people who enjoy seeing marine animals, but they are also important for scientists. Researchers can also use these unusual encounters to learn more about how the ocean temperatures and weather patterns impact where different species travel. Seeing tropical animals further north than usual can give scientists more information about how El Niño will change southern California's marine environment. As the El Niño continues, scientists and people along the coast will be watching the water for more unusual visitors. While whale sharks and other tropical species are not normally common in southern California, warmer ocean conditions can create opportunities for them to travel into the area. These upcoming months could bring even more sightings and help scientists to better understand the connection between the creatures and the 2026 El Niño. 

Image Courtesy of Abe Khao Lak on Wikimedia Commons.