Apex predator — fastest of its kind — feasting off California leaves onlookers in ‘awe’
Captain Larry Hartman peered out his binoculars as he escorted whale watchers aboard the Catallac off the coast of California.
He was scanning the horizon Friday, Aug. 16, when something caught his eye, Jessica Rodriguez, an education and communications manager with Davey’s Locker Whale Watching, told McClatchy News in an Aug. 21 phone interview.
“He came across what we call a kill spot, which is either a lot of birds hovering over the water, diving down, or a sheen on the water, an oily substance,” Rodriguez said.
To Hartman, this was a sign something may be lurking in the water.
“Sometimes, if we’re lucky, and we’re at the right place at the right time, we can find sharks,” Rodriguez said.
And, sure enough, as the boat approached, Hartman saw a shortfin mako shark feasting on a swordfish less than 2 miles from the Newport Beach Harbor, according to Rodriguez.
For 10 minutes, the passengers aboard the boat were in “awe,” Rodriguez said.
A video shared by the whale-watching company shows the shark come within feet of the boat as it calmly circles the swordfish floating on the surface of the water.
“It is a very rare thing to see during whale watching trips,” Rodriguez said. “So our lucky passengers were able to watch that power and that grace of such a large predator that often goes unseen below the surface.”
About shortfin mako sharks
Shortfin mako sharks live in the open ocean, or what is called a pelagic zone, with little land around, according to Rodriguez.
With few natural predators, shortfin makos are at the top of the ocean food web, Rodriguez said.
“They are opportunistic feeders, which makes them a very curious and smart shark,” Rodriguez said.
The shark often scours the ocean’s waters for “anything that could be dead out there,” according to Rodriguez.
“Sharks are the ocean vacuum cleaners,” Rodriguez said. “We need healthy shark populations. We don’t want a bunch of dead animals floating around everywhere.”
The species often feeds on large bony fish, such as swordfish or tuna, Rodriguez said.
When shortfin makos are fully grown, Rodriguez said they can grow to be about 12 feet in length and weigh more than 1,200 pounds.
Rodriguez said the shark spotted on Friday looked to be between 6 and 8 feet in length and likely weighed about 600 pounds.
The shortfin mako shark is “the fastest known species of shark, reaching moving speeds of 31 mph ... with bursts up to 46 mph,” according to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
‘A rarity’
To encounter any kind of shark on the ocean’s surface, Rodriguez said it calls for being “at the right place at the right time.”
“Sharks don’t come to the surface often, because they have gills and breathe underwater,” Rodriguez said.
As such, Rodriguez said she considers sightings of them “a rarity.”
“That’s one of the amazing things about getting out and exploring the ocean,” Rodriguez said. “You just never know what you’re going to see.”
This story was originally published August 21, 2024 at 3:21 PM with the headline "Apex predator — fastest of its kind — feasting off California leaves onlookers in ‘awe’."
