Wednesday August 16, 2023
San Francisco Chronicle —
Ocean temperatures have steadily climbed from the low to mid-50s to a relatively balmy 60 degrees along much of the San Francisco Bay Area and central coasts after a large marine heat wave arrived from the Pacific Northwest.
As a result, seabirds, fish and dolphins that normally stay in warmer waters either farther offshore or to the south have begun showing up nearby, and there may be more sightings of whales and sharks to come.
“This could be the year we get the species we don’t normally see,” said Rick Powers, owner of the New Sea Angler charter boat company in Bodega Bay and president of the Golden Gate Fishermen’s Association, which represents sports fishing companies. “We know there’s a big plume of warm water outside of us.”
The marine heat wave — defined as a period of time when the ocean temperature is above the 90th percentile — now stretches from Alaska to Central California, with tendrils reaching toward Monterey Bay. From Bodega Bay to Big Sur, temperatures recorded by data buoys have stayed several degrees above average for the past few days.