El Niño Compendium
A running record of the tropical animals that warm water is carrying up the California coast in 2026. Every entry is an observation: when it was seen, where, by whom, and how far that is from home. Nothing here is a fishing target.
What El Niño is
El Niño is the warm phase of a natural climate cycle in the tropical Pacific. The trade winds weaken, or even reverse, and the ocean across the central and eastern tropical Pacific runs warmer than average. The cycle swings back and forth every 3 to 7 years on average, and an El Niño usually lasts 9 to 12 months.
Source: NOAA Climate.gov
Why it pushes fish north
When warm water spreads up the coast, tropical animals ride it. Many arrive as drifting larvae or very young fish, carried north by the current. Some come as adults: jacks and other fish that gather around floating debris travel north with it, and strong swimmers like sharks and barracuda move freely through water of the right temperature.
California has seen this before. In the 1997 to 1998 El Niño, biologists recorded tropical fish from 29 families in state waters, including 10 species never before found in California.
This year
NOAA declared an El Niño Advisory, and on October 8, 2026, its forecasters said a strong to very strong El Niño was likely through January to March 2027. The Santa Monica Basin ran 74.3°F in October against a 67.0°F long-term average, by LA County Lifeguards' count.
Many of this season's visitors are young fish: juvenile butterflyfish at La Jolla, a school of baby groupers at Vallecitos Point, and hundreds of young garibaldi as far north as Monterey.
Source: NOAA Climate Prediction Center
North of range means the animal was seen past the published northern limit of where it lives. Edge of range means it is at that limit, and notable for its numbers, its age or the season.
Rarity here is how often the animal has been reported this season: 1 or 2 reports is Legendary, 3 to 9 is Rare, 10 to 29 is Uncommon, and 30 or more is Common. Every sighting has a source, and every range is checked against a published one.
The visitors
Most recently seen first.
Rocky Reef
Kelp
PelagicReport a sighting
- Scripps El Niño Fish Records Form: The Scripps Institution of Oceanography fish collection asks divers, anglers and beachgoers to report unexpected fish anywhere on the West Coast, with photos.
- Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County: Takes reports of unusual sea creatures at [email protected].
- NOAA stranding hotline, (866) 767-6114: For a sick or stranded marine animal. Keep your distance and call.
- iNaturalist: Most of the sightings on this page started as iNaturalist records. A photo with a date and place is enough.
- The Coastal Bulletin: Post it to the Nautical Nick bulletin and it can land here.
Further reading
- Scripps El Niño hub
- How does El Niño impact ocean ecosystems? (Scripps, August 19, 2026)
- First-ever nesting olive ridley sea turtles in California (NOAA Fisheries)
- Observations on fishes associated with the 1997-98 El Niño off California (Lea and Rosenblatt, CalCOFI Reports, 2000)