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ScienceQuiet 10d · day 11

Whale shark spotted off Malibu coast in rare Southern California sighting

A commercial fisherman captured footage of the massive filter-feeder between Malibu and Santa Barbara Island, likely drawn by warming waters.

newest coverage 10d agosummary written 10d ago4 pieces MastodonNewswires

What to know

  • A whale shark—the world's largest fish species—was photographed off Malibu on September 10, estimated at 14–16 feet long and roughly 30 miles offshore, by commercial fisherman Carl Sbarounis.
  • The sighting is part of a summer pattern of tropical marine species appearing in Southern California waters, including a hammerhead shark in August and unusual manta ray schools.
  • Oceanographers attribute the influx to strong El Niño conditions and a regional marine heatwave that have warmed Pacific waters; these species are expected to migrate south as temperatures cool.

“We wouldn't expect these animals to stick around through the late winter, for example. They're going to move further back south as water gets colder.”

Brendan Talwar, Postdoctoral scholar, Scripps Institution of Oceanography · LA Times ↗

Carl Sbarounis Commercial fisherman and pilotRyder DeVoe Friend and tipsterBrendan Talwar Postdoctoral scholar, Scripps Institution of Oceanography

How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlesposts

Peak 3 pieces in 3h at Sep 13, 5 AM; 4 pieces over 11 days (3 articles · 1 post) Sep 13, 5 AM — 3 pieces · 2 articles · 1 post — Newswires 2, Mastodon 1Sep 13, 8 AM — quietSep 13, 11 AM — quietSep 13, 2 PM — quietSep 13, 5 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Sep 13, 8 PM — quietSep 13, 11 PM — quietSep 14, 2 AM — quietSep 14, 5 AM — quietSep 14, 8 AM — quietSep 14, 11 AM — quietSep 14, 2 PM — quietSep 14, 5 PM — quietSep 14, 8 PM — quietSep 14, 11 PM — quietSep 15, 2 AM — quietSep 15, 5 AM — quietSep 15, 8 AM — quietSep 15, 11 AM — quietSep 15, 2 PM — quietSep 15, 5 PM — quietSep 15, 8 PM — quietSep 15, 11 PM — quietSep 16, 2 AM — quietSep 16, 5 AM — quietSep 16, 8 AM — quietSep 16, 11 AM — quietSep 16, 2 PM — quietSep 16, 5 PM — quietSep 16, 8 PM — quietSep 16, 11 PM — quietSep 17, 2 AM — quietSep 17, 5 AM — quietSep 17, 8 AM — quietSep 17, 11 AM — quietSep 17, 2 PM — quietSep 17, 5 PM — quietSep 17, 8 PM — quietSep 17, 11 PM — quietSep 18, 2 AM — quietSep 18, 5 AM — quietSep 18, 8 AM — quietSep 18, 11 AM — quietSep 18, 2 PM — quietSep 18, 5 PM — quietSep 18, 8 PM — quietSep 18, 11 PM — quietSep 19, 2 AM — quietSep 19, 5 AM — quietSep 19, 8 AM — quietSep 19, 11 AM — quietSep 19, 2 PM — quietSep 19, 5 PM — quietSep 19, 8 PM — quietSep 19, 11 PM — quietSep 20, 2 AM — quietSep 20, 5 AM — quietSep 20, 8 AM — quietSep 20, 11 AM — quietSep 20, 2 PM — quietSep 20, 5 PM — quietSep 20, 8 PM — quietSep 20, 11 PM — quietSep 21, 2 AM — quietSep 21, 5 AM — quietSep 21, 8 AM — quietSep 21, 11 AM — quietSep 21, 2 PM — quietSep 21, 5 PM — quietSep 21, 8 PM — quietSep 21, 11 PM — quietSep 22, 2 AM — quietSep 22, 5 AM — quietSep 22, 8 AM — quietSep 22, 11 AM — quietSep 22, 2 PM — quietSep 22, 5 PM — quietSep 22, 8 PM — quietSep 22, 11 PM — quietYesterday, 2 AM — quietYesterday, 5 AM — quietYesterday, 8 AM — quietYesterday, 11 AM — quietYesterday, 2 PM — quietYesterday, 5 PM — quietYesterday, 8 PM — quietYesterday, 11 PM — quietToday, 2 AM — quietToday, 5 AM — quiet 1
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  1. 1

    Oceanographer explains tropical species influx as climate-driven

    Brendan Talwar, a postdoctoral scholar at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, confirmed that the tropical visitors are likely reaching Southern California due to this year's strong El Niño and a regional marine heatwave lasting roughly a year. He characterized the whale shark sighting as exceptional and noted these animals will migrate south as waters cool.

    “If you see it, that's just a really unique and kind of exceptional sighting.”
    — Brendan Talwar
  2. background

    Sbarounis also observes unusual manta rays and devil rays — On the same day as the whale shark sighting, Sbarounis documented groups of unusually colored manta rays, including tan-brown specimens and others with gray coloring and black stripes (spinetail devil rays).

  3. background

    Whale shark photographed off Malibu — Commercial fisherman and pilot Carl Sbarounis, alerted by a friend named Ryder DeVoe, captured footage of a whale shark cruising through Pacific waters. Sbarounis estimated the whale shark at 14–16 feet long, located approximately 30 miles offshore between Malibu and Santa Barbara Island.

  4. background

    Hammerhead shark spotted off Malibu pier — A hammerhead shark was sighted just below the surface of the water at the Malibu pier, circling and leaving fishermen stunned. This was the first of several rare tropical species sightings in Southern California waters this summer.

Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet

  1. 2 outlets In rare sighting, whale shark spotted between Malibu and Santa Barbara Island

    first by LA Times, 11d ago · also LA Times California

and 1 smaller piece