Looking for horn sharks in Baja California & Sonora

[Sam Miller III]

After San Quentin I would suggest that you investigate San Lucas Cove -- south of Santa Roselia about 20 miles

Large cove easy access reasonable priced camping

Sam Miller, 111

 

[AZTinman]

I was in the Bahia de Los Angeles area a couple of weeks ago. We did multiple daily dives for a week and noted no evidence of horn sharks. This said, the species tends to be more active at night and the algae situation in the area is out of control. The bottom is literally covered with algae. This is probably due to the absence of sea cucumbers. Evidently, a Japanese commercial fishing boat showed-up last year and illegally collected large numbers of sea cucumbers and lobsters. I guess the point is that the algae could've easily been hiding horn sharks.

-AZTinman

 

[Azur Salino]

Thanks so much!

What I've found is that they're really, really good at hiding. There have been several sites where a handful of people told me I wouldn't find horn sharks, but because I had time, I went and looked anyway, with great success. That's not to say I doubt what you're saying here at all - but I do weigh it against those experiences a little bit. Unless people are looking for them carefully and specifically, they're incredibly easy to miss. That said...there have absolutely been sites where people said I would find them, and I found none (*cough* Malaga Cove, CA *cough*)! And, due to budget constraints, I've got to be careful about spending too much time on dud sites, so these insights are especially valuable.

Honestly, I may skip Sonora (to focus on the Baja Peninsula as a barrier to dispersal by itself), and focus my sampling efforts on the following sites:

- San Quintin (< this may involve cooperation from fishermen at fishing camps/villages)
- Magdalena Bay (they're well-documented here)
- Cabo San Lucas (questionable...)
- La Paz
- Loreto

I really appreciate you taking the time to respond, and maybe even report back. I can't tell you how helpful that is. I thought I was flying blind in California...this is a whole different beast.

- Sean

I'll try to get you some more info soon Sean. Also sending a PM to you

 

[scanfield]

I was in the Bahia de Los Angeles area a couple of weeks ago. We did multiple daily dives for a week and noted no evidence of horn sharks. This said, the species tends to be more active at night and the algae situation in the area is out of control. The bottom is literally covered with algae. This is probably due to the absence of sea cucumbers. Evidently, a Japanese commercial fishing boat showed-up last year and illegally collected large numbers of sea cucumbers and lobsters. I guess the point is that the algae could've easily been hiding horn sharks.

-AZTinman

Thank you for this intel!

That would make sense. During the day, horn sharks tend to be extremely cryptic. For every horn shark you see in the open, there can be many more in hiding, in my experience. The majority of sharks I was able to catch were completely hidden inside small caves and crevices, and most of my time was spent shining my flashlight into these hidey-holes and looking for their tails, and very few out of the 250+ I was able to sample were out in the open.

In Malibu, CA, I vividly remember "climbing" over a hill covered in sea grass. I set my hand down to stabilize myself, and out from under my hand swam a 2-foot long horn shark that I had no idea was there!

Another thing I need to consider is seasonality. Horn sharks prefer warmer water, but I wonder whether there's an upper limit to their tolerance. In California, in the summer, the majority of horn sharks are found at 40 fsw or shallower. In Mexico, where waters are warmer on average, it could be that they are found deeper, seeking out water in that 70 F range.

I'm hoping that my trip in Nov - Dec will coincide with surface waters that were similar to those in CA in the summer of 2014.

 

[scanfield]

After San Quentin I would suggest that you investigate San Lucas Cove -- south of Santa Roselia about 20 miles

Large cove easy access reasonable priced camping

Sam Miller, 111

Thanks, Sam! Do you happen to know if there are any good places to get tank fills in the area? I have a sneaking suspicion that some of my spots are going to be problematic because they may be far away from dive shops.

 

[AZTinman]

If you haven't looked at the information in Milton S. Love's book Certainly More Than You Want to Know About The Fishes of The Pacific Coast A Postmodern Experience, the material on pages 28-29 might be worth a look.

For what it's worth, water temperatures in the Bahia de Los Angeles were in the lower-70's during our trip a couple of weeks ago. The deep water channels that run through the Midriff Islands tend to keep water temperatures down. This time of year, the areas I usually dive in the Gulf of California have water temperatures in the high-80's.

If you end-up diving in the Midriff Islands area, tidal exchanges in the Midriff Islands tend to be substantial. The water really moves! Plan your dives to go with the current or dive during slack tides.

A few years ago I was planning to dive an undeveloped area off the Sonora side of the Sea of Cortez. I questioned a friend with lots of experience diving in remote areas of Mexico. Yes, he had done some diving in the area where I was going, but had stopped because it was difficult to get other people to go to areas that were so remote. He commented, "It ain't Holiday Inn diving. You have to take everything you may need with you and be on your game with your diving. You'll be a long ways from anyone who can help you." I took his advice and enjoyed some incredible diving. I'm sure you get my point.

If you are bringing a bunch of tanks with you, the Mexican government people can be a bit sticky. You're basically allowed to bring the number of tanks you can carry across the border. Bringing more than two per person may require unloading the extras on the U.S. side and hand carrying the extras across the border to reload into your vehicle in Mexico.

-AZTinman

 

[Sam Miller III]

Baja is going to be problematic
There is a shop In the Bay - Riccardos- 60 miles off the main highway

So far as I know nothing in Santa Rosalia (SR) -- about 20 miles north of San Lucas Cove (SLC)

SLC is populated by a beach community of ex pat American and Canadians - On occasion some bring private compressors

SLC is very shallow 20 foot maximum and should offer opportunity for Horn Sharks

What happened to h. Nelsoni as the scientific name for the horned one?

<< Side Bar between SR & SLC is the Baja Territorial prison on the ocean side of the highway . It is open to visitors to purchase items from the prisoners - the method is to haggles with the prisoner on price - agree, then pay the guard who takes a percentage.
It is an eye opener and worth the time to stop >>>

Enjoy - be careful - be well insured - and good luck in your research

Sam Miller, 111

 

[scanfield]

If you haven't looked at the information in Milton S. Love's book Certainly More Than You Want to Know About The Fishes of The Pacific Coast A Postmodern Experience, the material on pages 28-29 might be worth a look.

-AZTinman

Looking into that now, thanks!

 

[scanfield]

Baja is going to be problematic
There is a shop In the Bay - Riccardos- 60 miles off the main highway

So far as I know nothing in Santa Rosalia (SR) -- about 20 miles north of San Lucas Cove (SLC)

SLC is populated by a beach community of ex pat American and Canadians - On occasion some bring private compressors

SLC is very shallow 20 foot maximum and should offer opportunity for Horn Sharks

What happened to h. Nelsoni as the scientific name for the horned one?

<< Side Bar between SR & SLC is the Baja Territorial prison on the ocean side of the highway . It is open to visitors to purchase items from the prisoners - the method is to haggles with the prisoner on price - agree, then pay the guard who takes a percentage.
It is an eye opener and worth the time to stop >>>

Enjoy - be careful - be well insured - and good luck in your research

Sam Miller, 111

Thanks so much. As for H. nelsoni, I had never even heard that name! I may do some digging.

 

[Sam Miller III]

I am old - my reference books are old..or even older

On occasion in the scientific world names are changed -- I never knew why or questioned why ?
Perhaps you can confer with one of your professors about the name

Where are you academically ? I suspect some where between Bachelors and Doctorate
No matter where - Good Luck!
'
SAM