A “super” El Niño that began this past winter will cause an explosion in great white shark numbers in Southern California this summer — and experts warn beachgoers to be vigilant.

Scientists say the warm winter means sharks will be traveling north from Mexico up the Pacific Ocean in an attempt to escape the unusually high ocean temperatures.

And for those planning to hit the beaches in SoCal, officials say that means an increase in shark activity.

The invasion should peak between July and September, experts say.

Chris Lowe of Cal State Long Beach’s Shark Lab told The California Post that the last strong El Niño was in 2015, and that that year experts saw a huge influx in sharks during those summer months.

Lowe said experts are anticipating that is going to happen again this year.
He said observers first started seeing baby sharks in February, which is very early, given the typical time is mid-April.

Juvenile sharks — which can measure anywhere from 4 ¹/₂ feet to 9 feet — do not like the water temperatures when they go above 82 degrees, and that’s what they anticipate will push those baby sharks up to SoCal beaches.

“We have been monitoring the great white sharks in Southern California since 2009, and since then we have tagged and trapped 350,” Lowe said. “And that’s how we know temperature affects their migration.”

Great white male sharks can get up to 11 feet, while females can reach sizes of between 12–15 feet.

The sharks also use Southern California beaches as nursery habitats, Lowe said.

“And those are the same beaches we use. And because this summer is going to be hotter than normal, we expect a larger than normal beach attendance,” he said.

“We also expect there’s going to be more juvenile white sharks than normal along the Southern California coastline up to Monterey,” he added.

In addition to more great white shark activity, other species, such as hammerheads and tiger sharks, could be in SoCal oceans as the warmer temperatures cause them to travel north as they follow their prey.

Lowe said this kind of summer means that more people will be hitting the water for recreational activities — warning that people need to be vigilant because there could be more species in that “behave differently than we are used to.”

He also stressed that just because experts are expecting an increase in shark activity, it doesn’t mean there will be an increase in shark attacks.

However, he noted that the first time Southern California experienced hammerhead shark bites was in 2015, with two different attacks, the last time the state had similar ocean temperatures.

The California Post reached out to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife for further comment.

California Post News: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, WhatsApp, LinkedIn
California Post SportsFacebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X
California Post Opinion
California Post Newsletters: Sign up here!
California Post App: Download here!
Home delivery: Sign up here!
Page Six Hollywood: Sign up here!