Whales congregate on California coast

“All the fish are fleeing west and the whales are feasting on them.... And so it moves up the food chain. {But there's lots of film of Walmart brawls on the news}”

CBS News: 100s of whales in bay on California coast; It’s never been like this, we just can’t even believe it

Experts: We just aren’t sure what’s going on; “A once-in-a-lifetime chance… unheard of, it’s unbelievable, nobody’s seen this”

ENENews,

30 November, 2013

Gary Griggs, director of the Institute of Marine Sciences and Long Marine Laboratory at UC Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz Sentinel, Nov. 29, 2013: Pelicans, sea lions, whales, and dolphins have been in an unusual feeding frenzy, astounding all of us who have visited the coast in the past few weeks. From Natural Bridges to Capitola and beyond, and well as offshore, the food chain is in full bloom at a time when we don’t normally experience this concentration of feeding animals. [...] The intense blooms of life in October and nearly into December are odd. [...] Exactly why we are seeing these incredible numbers of anchovies isn’t completely clear. There are some ideas that surface, perhaps the warmer water in the bay is more conducive to anchovy egg and larval survival right now, and the fish know that. But we aren’t sure. [...] Now if you were reading carefully, you would notice I changed subjects, diverted your interest, and never really answered the question of why there are all those anchovies out there. If I was absolutely certain I knew the answer, I would definitely share it with you.

Nancy Black, marine biologist with Monterey Bay Whale Watch, San Jose Mercury News, Nov. 11, 2013: “This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance, so people should see it [...] This is just unheard of. It’s unbelievable. Nobody has seen this anywhere in California. This is a record year for this feeding aggregation of humpbacks and sea lions. There’s just miles and miles of fish out there.”

CBS News, Nov. 27, 2013: [It's] blowing away even avid whale watchers such as Karen Sheffer. “It’s never been like this” she said. “This is phenomenal.” [...] There are also dolphins and hundreds of sea lions. They are chasing an unexplained explosion of anchovies in the bay. Killer whales showed up to hunt the sea lions. “There’s easily over 100 to 200 whales in Monterey Bay,” said Nancy Black, a marine biologist and the captain of a whale watching boat. “So this is like, you know, so exceptional we just can’t even believe it.” [...] “So I’m just trying to tell the people how lucky they are to really witness this,” Black said. She knows this sea-life show will eventually end. For now, she says, just enjoy the view.

Watch the CBS broadcast here

See also: CBC News: Something very odd is happening in Pacific; Sea creatures acting strangely, species turning up whee rarely seen -- Related to Fukushima crisis? -- L.A. Lifeguard: Used to be 2 shark sightings a year, now it's 2 a day (VIDEOS)