There has been a dramatic increase in the number of great white sharks seen swimming in Monterey Bay, according to a new study published Tuesday.
The study found younger great white sharks that are between 5 and 9 feet long (1.5 and 3 meters) and traditionally concentrated in warm waters off northern Mexico and Southern California have moved north since 2014 as water temperatures have warmed.
Where once there were no juvenile white sharks spotted in the ocean between Aptos and Capitola, now there are dozens seen every year, according to research from scientists at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Duke University and California State University Long Beach.
They swim there in groups between April and October, sometimes within a few yards of the shoreline and some have been photographed swimming near people.
The “shark nurseries” where they grow have typically been south of Santa Barbara County. But after the Pacific Ocean off the West Coast warmed considerably in an event known as “the Blob” in 2014, the have moved northward, the scientists found.
