Where to find horn sharks in Southern California?

[drbill]

This time of year you should start seeing lots of juveniles. Here on Catalina I've found that the dive sites just north of our East End Quarry (Garibaldi Reef and Blue Car Wreck) may have quite a number of them on the bottom in the shallows. Unfortunately that's not really a shore dive though.

 

[fnfalman]

I second Leo Cabrillo beach dive in Malibu.

Do a night dive and the chances of seeing horned sharks would improve a lot. Otherwise, you'll have to look under every nooks and cranies, and fallen kelp leaves to find them.

 

[asha]

There are also always juveniles at La Jolla Shores.

 

[tphelps]

We will look into all of these sites, thank you everyone for the great suggestions!

 

[tigercowboy]

I second La Jolla Shores. You might want to take a look at Fletcher's Cove/Tabletop Reef in Encinitas. There are usually a few hanging about.

 

[scanfield]

Hi everyone,

My name is Sean Canfield - I'm the diver to which Tyler was referring. He was kind enough to make this thread, and you were kind enough to respond, so thank you all very much!

Just thought I'd update you on my activities and my success thus far!

I'm currently based at the Wrigley Institute in Big Fisherman's Cove, Catalina Island. So far I've sampled tissues from 68 sharks from the Isthmus region of the island.

I recently completed a 5-day trip to Malibu for some sampling on the mainland. I'm happy to report that in 7 dives (5 fewer than I had hoped) I was able to sample tissues from 42 horn sharks! For population genetic analysis, 30 is considered a good minimum sample size, and while I was aiming for about 50 sharks (ambitious, I know), 42 exceeded my expectations. I was primarily diving off of Malibu Road and just a couple hundred yards east of Big Rock, and we averaged about 6 sharks per dive. The surge was formidable and visibility was pretty terrible (we were lucky to get more than five feet of visibility), but there were still times where we were almost literally tripping over horn sharks. I get the impression that horn sharks are one of those animals that are easy to miss when you're not looking for them!

My next trip will be to Palos Verdes - specifically, Malaga Cove. MC happens to be one of the sites listed on my permit from CDFW, and seemed to get a big enough endorsement that I think it will be worth my time. I've been studying maps and videos (many of the videos include footage of horn sharks, which is highly encouraging), and reading advice on websites. I'm dreading the climb to and from the site, but sometimes fieldwork is hard. Still better than working in the lab!

Afterwards I'll return to Catalina, and in August I'll make my final mainland excursion to the Laguna area (Divers Cove, Shaw's Cove, etc.). After my Malibu trip, let's just say that I'm cautiously optimistic.

If you guys can make any specific recommendations about any of these sites (particularly Malaga Cove), I'd be extremely grateful.

I'll let you know how the rest of my trip goes.

Thanks again, guys!

Cheers,
SC

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Fortunately for you, Malaga Cove is one of the "easy" site on the peninsula. The road is paved most of the way, although a bit steep in spots. You can enter the water at the end of the paved road. The shallow rocks are extremely slippery, so pulling yourself along on your belly is common. You could also continue down the dirt trail and enter at the sandy beach. It's a much easier entry/exit, but requires a long swim.

 

[scanfield]

Hello again,

Someone in this thread (I believe Pinkyfoool) recommended Veteran's Park at Redondo Beach. This is also a site listed on my permit from CDFW, and I've read from other sources that juvenile horn sharks may be abundant here (seasonally). Is there a particular area/depth that anyone could recommend to maximize my chances? I know that it is predominantly (if not entirely) sandy-bottom, so I'm wondering if there are particular areas to which they are attracted, or whether it's more haphazard.

Thanks again!

- SC

 

[jpecht]

I was just out there a week ago - you can see dozens (or more) of juvenile horn sharks there on most night dives at Vet's Park, anywhere from 25-50 feet. It's pretty difficult to not spot them.

 

[Areprobate]

Saw four last Saturday at crescent bay in laguna. Three in the rocks, one in the open. we see them regularly there. Most are two feet or better long.