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MALIBU, Calif. (KABC) — A rare hammerhead shark sighting off the Malibu Pier is going viral online after a local fisherman captured video of the creature.
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Video of the shark showed the animal swimming with its fin visible above the water as it surfaced near the pier.
Sport fisherman Ari Kohanchi captured the shocking scene Thursday morning.
“I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ It was a hammerhead, and I started going insane because it’s rare here,” Kohanchi said.
The shark was briefly hooked by another fisherman.
“It’s absolutely fascinating and exciting to see an animal that graceful in our waters,” said Nate Jaros of the Aquarium of the Pacific.
Jaros said warming water is what brought the shark north of the border.
“When we get this water that can be 70 degrees-plus at our surface this time of year during an El Nino event it just sets the stage for them to move with the warm water and continue to hunt their prey,” he said.
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More unusual creatures may be on the way as conditions are moving toward a “super” El Nino like in 2015, which brought sightings of green sea turtles, whale sharks and even a venomous yellow-bellied sea snake.
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Fisherman like Kohanchi said the hammerhead is the latest surprising sight they’ve seen in the changing seas.
“We’re also getting uncommon species like barracuda that are never here, but now we catch two to three a day,” Kohanchi said.
The warm El Nino water attracting the unusual creatures also comes with concern for native species, which can suffer due to algae blooms and other impacts on their food supply because of changing temperature.
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