A rare sight off Laguna Beach’s coast has ocean enthusiasts buzzing: a hammerhead shark was seen cruising around a mile from the shore.
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A marine heat wave and El Niño conditions are keeping ocean water off the Southern California coast in the mid-70s, which is luring exotic species to the area. The latest hammerhead spotted is one of several seen in recent weeks, with one reported off the Malibu Pier a week ago and another reported recently in Santa Barbara.
“I don’t know a lot about them, we never see them here,” said photographer Mark Girardeau, who documented the sea creature off Laguna Beach this weekend from a Newport Coastal Adventure charter. “I know they are mythical; a lot of people don’t even think they are real. It makes them that much cooler.”
The last time Girardeau documented a hammerhead off local waters was a decade ago, in 2015 around the same area in Laguna Beach. Similar warm water conditions — then dubbed “The Blob” — brought a wave of exotic sea life off the coastline, including whale sharks, the largest documented fish species.
The 8- to 9-foot hammerhead was first spotted by Capt. Dave McCabe aboard one of Newport Coastal Adventure’s boats, who alerted other boat operators of the rare sight.
McCabe said it’s the second in recent weeks he’s seen in the same area. He also last saw hammerheads in the area in 2015, when they were “all over the place,” he said.
“You could leave the harbor on a glassy morning and you could spot them everywhere. This year, so far, we’ve been seeing them here and there,” McCabe said.
Hammerheads have a very unique fin, more upright and not the typical triangular shape that a great white or mako shark has.
McCabe said there have been other more tropical bird species reported, as well as fish such as dorado and yellowfin tuna typically found further south.
“It kind of feels like the Mexico ecosystem pushes up and we get a little taste of it,” McCabe said.
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The charter Girardeau sailed with was about four miles out and almost at the its trip when word of the hammerhead was radioed out — the crew decided to take a chance and sped up the coast 15 minutes to see the shark still sauntering in the sea.
The boat got close enough for passengers to take photos and see its large dorsal fin.
“It was just cruising around,” Girardeau said.
He also recently saw a pufferfish, another tropical species rare to the area.
“There’s definitely different stuff going on out there,” Girardeau said.
Cal State Long Beach Shark Lab Director Chris Lowe said the hammerhead sightings are closer to shore than have been documented in the past, though their appearance is not surprising, with warm water temperatures making for an ideal place to hang out.
He said people should be aware that hammerheads behave differently than other sharks, getting very excited around fish blood, so spearfishermen and people fishing from a kayak should use caution.
“We just have to be a bit more careful,” he said.
Two people were bitten by hammerheads in 2015; one spearfisher about 90 miles offshore who was bitten in the hand and another off Malibu in a kayak who was bitten in the leg.
There are two different kinds of hammerhead species – scalloped, an endangered species, and the smooth hammerheads, the ones showing up in Southern California.
“Now what I’m waiting for next is a whale shark to show up,” Lowe said. “They are coming.”
There could also be other marine impacts that will become apparent as squid and anchovies move out of the region because the waters are too warm for them. Sea lions may suffer because they can’t find food and can starve, he said.
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“Marine mammal care centers have already been busy,” he said.