Great white sharks could flood California waters as super El Niño nears

A “super” El Niño winter will cause an explosion in great white shark numbers in Southern California as experts warn beachgoers to be vigilant.

Scientists have said the warm upcoming winter means that sharks will be traveling north from Mexico up the Pacific Ocean in an attempt to escape the unusual ocean water temperatures.

And for those planning to vacation at the beaches in SoCal, officials estimate that means an increase in shark activity.

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

Lowe said they are anticipating that is going to happen again this year.

Juvenile sharks — which can measure anywhere from 4.5 feet up 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 our 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.”

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

And the sharks 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.”

“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, like hammerhead sharks and tiger sharks, could be in our oceans as the warmer temperatures cause them to travel north as they follow their prey.

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

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

However, he notes 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.

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