First the Humbolts, now this?

[FishSlayer]

Rare sight: Manta rays spotted off the coast
Biologists are shocked at the sighting, reported by a fishing boat Monday.
By LAYLAN CONNELLY
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

DANA POINT – An unusual sighting occurred on the coast this week when three large manta rays were spotted about eight miles off Dana Point.

Brian Woolley, captain of the Sum Fun boat out of Dana Wharf Sportfishing, at first thought the ripples on the water's surface were caused by a school of large fish, possibly yellowtail.

Instead, he spotted three manta rays cruising along.

Woolley, captain for seven years, said he has never seen them in local waters before. Marine biologists were surprised and excited about the Monday sighting.

Dennis Kelly, professor of marine science at Orange Coast College, said in his 35 years of teaching he's only heard of manta rays being here once -- and even that was iffy. His source was a fisherman who enjoyed drinking, he said.

"This is extremely unusual," he said. "Very rare, one in a million."

The dark gray rays had a white underbelly and a wingspan of 10- to 12-feet wide, Woolley said.

"They were just kind of swimming along in a formation, staggering one after the other," he said. "They were just cruising right at the surface."

When Rachael Calkins, marine biologist for the Ocean Institute, first heard of the sighting, her reaction was "how bizarre is that?"

The last official sighting she had heard about in the area was during El Nino.

Calkins speculated that the manta rays came here because of the quick change in water temperatures this past week.

Water temperatures had dropped to about 59 degrees because of upwelling – when colder water is pushed up to the surface by strong winds. With the hot weather, the water temperatures have shot up drastically since Sunday.

Kelly said he thinks there may be a large, temporary current called the "Davidson counter current" coming through from Baja. If the mantas found their way here, other subtropical fish such as the Wahoo barracuda, large sun fish, green sea turtles, and the black jellyfish that washed up on shore a few years ago could also be making their way to the region, he said.

"If we're seeing mantas here, there's a chance we'll see stranger creatures here," Kelly said. "Tell everybody to keep their eyes peeled, when things like this happen, we can see anything out there."

The manta ray is the largest of the rays. Its wingspan can get up to 25 feet across and its weight up to 6,600 pounds. The rays are usually found in tropical areas and coral reefs, as well as the Sea of Cortez and through Baja, and occasionally in San Diego, the highest point of their range.

During Monday's sighting, the manta rays came up to the bow, like dolphins sometimes do, and swam with the boat for about five minutes before the boat took off to look for more fish to catch.

"The passengers were stoked checking them out," Woolley said.

[dodoman]

ARENT THE MANTAS SUDTROPICAL SPECIES, IF SO THATS A GOOD SIGN OF OUR WATER GETTING CLEANER, WOULDNT YOU SAY.

[BeachBear]

Very cool!!!

[chefcapu82]

Originally Posted by dodoman

ARENT THE MANTAS SUDTROPICAL SPECIES, IF SO THATS A GOOD SIGN OF OUR WATER GETTING CLEANER, WOULDNT YOU SAY.

yes they are a subtropical species i #### u not i seen them 2 days in a row while camping at catalina island doing some snorkeling with the ymca at whites landing i dont recall the name of the place but i seen them there was 4 of them with a wing span of 10 to 12 ft the look like black carpets hovering benaeth the sea its an incredible thing to swim with them theyre as docile as a pussy cat lol u can touch them and swim with them there cool creatures there was also a boil of mackerels and some barracuda following it but they hang at catalina for the most part

[cst]

yeah but the Rays are harmless unlike humboldts.

[Beresford13861]

thats too kool

[dodoman]

MANTAS ARE HARMLESS, on the longer trips we would incidently hook and release them .


i cant recall on seeing them close to home.

[DementedFish]

That is in fact very bizzare..

[mickeysindahous]

It's the end of the world as we know it. Ahhh!!! Grab your fishing rod and prepare to die happy! When will it end? Who knows, but to be on the safe side, just fish from here on out.

How 'bout that? Think the wife'll buy it? I'll keep you guys posted on that one...

[Local Rookie]

Whoa! That's awesome. I wish I was on that boat!