Rare Salmon Shark Spotted off Catalina Island
Rare Salmon Shark Spotted at the East-End of Catalina Island
Dana Wharf Whale Watching saw a very rare salmon shark on Friday, March 26th while on an 8 Hour Ultimate Whale Watching Trip
Dana Wharf’s Eight Hour Whale Watching trips are so fun and we do them once a month. The target is always Whales and other marine life while we take 25 people to Catalina Island for an ultimate whale watching adventure.
On Friday, while aboard the OCean Adventure, Capt. Steve Burkhalter encountered what he thought was Great White Shark at the East-end of Catalina, but upon closer inspection it looked very different. After further review and sending our video & pictures to the experts, the boat was thrilled to learn what we encountered was actually a Salmon Shark! Since Salmon Sharks are typically seen in Alaska and we are so far from Alaska—we figured he must be visiting for Spring Break.
Salmon sharks are found primarily in Alaska. They are APEX predators that eat salmon and other fish. Salmon sharks tyically feed on fish, squid and other sharks. Some evidence suggests adult salmon sharks include pinnipeds as prey. Catalina Island is well-known for squid, so perhaps that is why are marine friend chose Southern California for Spring Break.
Alisa Shulman Janiger was the expert on this adventure, and she said, “This is a very rare and unusual sighting for Southern California; my fellow shark experts will be very excited to learn of this sighting!”
In Dana Wharf’s 50 year history, not one of our Captains had ever seen a Salmon Shark until this day!
Check out THIS VIDEO to see the Salmon Shark up close!
Learn more about the Lamna ditropis (Salmon Shark) HERE
