Southern California juvenile great white sharks

On July 25, 2026 a juvenile great white shark breached the water just yards behind a boogie‑boarder at Newport Beach, Orange County. The incident was recorded on video and marine biologists identified the animal as a juvenile, suggesting the breach could be a response to parasites or to El Niño‑related warmer waters that have drawn more sharks toward the California coast.

A few days later, on August 1, 2026 a fisherman on Sunset Point Beach in Los Angeles pulled an 8‑foot juvenile great white from the sand and returned it to the Pacific, where it swam away into Santa Monica Bay. Scientists noted a surge in juvenile great white sightings along Southern California this summer, attributing the increase to unusually warm El Niño conditions that create near‑shore nursery habitats. While experts warned of a “very sharky summer,” they stressed that the young sharks pose limited risk to beachgoers.