El Ni帽o brings rare fish to US West Coast
The warming of surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean along California鈥檚 coast has drawn tropical fish rarely found in the area.
El Ni帽o鈥檚 weather patterns are credited with the higher temperatures that are enticing vibrantly colored fish and other seldom-seen species to the region.
Hundreds of sightings have been documented by scientists and fisherman looking for the chance to pull in an uncommon haul.
Whale and hammerhead sharks, wahoo, and largemouth blenny have been seen from San Diego to San Francisco, as they follow the warm currents up from Mexico.
"Every tropical fish seems to have punched their tickets to Southern California," at the University of California, Santa Barbara, to Reuters.
In late October, farther north in Monterey Bay, Calif., according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The conservation group Save Our Shores said the creatures are usually not found farther north than Mexico.
But this is not the first time such an occurrence has taken place.
In 1997, the along California鈥檚 central coast and extended up through the Pacific Northwest, and a marlin was captured along the Washington state coast. The waters were so warm that year that some Oregon surfers tossed aside wetsuits for shorts in the normally frigid waters.
In 2014, there were similar reports of tropical fish reaching the west coast of the United States.
The movement of warm water species north during an El Ni帽o聽year is typical, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
In past El Ni帽o聽years, warming waters and the appearance of new species not normally found have been documented as far north as Alaska, NOAA said. El Ni帽o聽causes " in our oceans that affect fish distribution."
Sea surface temperatures during an than usual in the west, reports NOAA, which also changes through systems of buoys.
California meteorologist Josh Rubenstein said there has been a change in Southern California because of El Ni帽o, which has in the past caused significant rainfall in the area.
Josh Hunt, who charters boats in Los Angeles, said there have been a trove of new species thus far this year including blue and black marlins and wahoos.
"I mean that鈥檚 just unheard of basically," . "That鈥檚 really where it gets really crazy for this El Ni帽o."
Phil Hasting, of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, told Reuters he nabbed his first sighting of a largemouth blenny fish over the summer in San Diego 鈥� a species usually seen in Mexico鈥檚 Baja California.
Los Angeles County鈥檚 Natural History Museum鈥檚 Rick Feeney, a fish expert, said he has encountered smaller, more colorful fish near San Diego, including the spotfin burfish.
"I鈥檝e been fishing this bay all my life,鈥� said Michael Franklin to Reuters, "and I鈥檝e never seen anything like this."
