Sharks Flee Storm: Great Whites Seek Shelter

A recent study by scientists from UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Shark Lab at California State University, Long Beach, has documented the storm-response behavior of juvenile great white sharks.

In 2023, researchers tracked 22 juvenile white sharks using acoustic tags as Storm Hillary neared the California coast. They observed that more than half of these sharks temporarily left their nursery grounds near Torrey Pines and Del Mar.

Many of these sharks sought refuge in more protected areas like La Jolla Cove, which offers quick access to deeper waters. One individual was recorded swimming to a depth of 433 feet, likely to escape the storm's rough surface conditions.

Researchers believe that a significant drop in sea-surface temperature, from 68 to 57 degrees Fahrenheit in a single day, may have signaled the sharks to move. Adolescent great whites are known to be more sensitive to cold than adults, suggesting they sought warmer waters.

Understanding how marine species like sharks respond to extreme weather is becoming increasingly critical, especially as climate change escalates and human-shark interactions in coastal waters grow. These studies aid in developing better conservation strategies and promoting safe ocean use for both marine life and people.

Meanwhile, separate research is exploring the use of tagged sharks to predict hurricane intensity on the East Coast by monitoring ocean temperature and salinity. This effort involves various shark species, including juvenile great whites, shortfin makos, blue sharks, and smooth hammerheads.