Hot Tuna : Warmer Waters Are Luring Yellowtail and Sea Bass Closer to Shore

Off the Channel Islands, John Gonzalez of Malibu struggled for 30 minutes with a 45-pound beast his friends called “The Monster Yellowtail.”

After finally reeling in the large tuna with an ordinary 20-pound line, he posed proudly for photographers.

“This is one of my biggest yellowtail ever,” he said.

Gonzalez is among hundreds of commercial and sports fishermen in Ventura County who are taking advantage of warmer-than-normal ocean temperatures that attract large warm-water yellowtail tuna and white sea bass to the area.

Scientists are unsure why ocean temperatures have increased 5 to 10 degrees during the past year, but they are certain that the warmer waters mean big business for fishermen.

Fishermen say Gonzalez’s trophy is unusual not only because of its size but also because yellowtail tuna are usually not seen off the coast at this time of year.

“Most people are lucky to catch one in a lifetime,” said Jim Launius, captain of a sports fishing boat at the Channel Islands Marina.

The change in water temperature also was noted by windsurfers at Surfer’s Point in Ventura.

“It’s pretty warm for this time of year,” Tim Koester of Ventura said as he stashed his surfboard in his car.

Although most surfers continue to wear wet suits, some have abandoned the heavy-duty, full-body suit customary in November.

“My heavy suit is in the trunk,” Chang Liampetchakul said as he put on a short-sleeved model.

Fishermen, surfers and marine biologists are intrigued and delighted by the warmer ocean temperatures, which usually range in the low- to mid-50s in November.

Because there is little data or research on ocean temperatures and underwater currents, the explanation of the unusual temperatures varies according to whom is asked about it.

Dan Richards, a marine biologist at Channel Islands National Park, believes that a shift in wind patterns may be the cause.

He suggests that the Southern California coast has experienced a slackening of strong winds, which normally blow across the ocean and churn the deeper, colder waters. Without the winds, he said, the upper layer of ocean water becomes tepid.

“It seems like last winter the wind was mild,” he said.

David Siegel, a physical oceanographer at UC Santa Barbara, said the wind explanation might be valid. But then again, the warmer temperatures could be caused by unusual ocean currents or a complicated combination of warm and cold air pressures off the coast.

“It’s an infant science,” Siegel said. “What is happening today? Who knows.”

Ed Lusk, a wholesale commercial fishermen at the Ventura harbor, doesn’t really care. Lusk is too busy keeping an eye on an increase in the shrimp population.

“They are not bigger, we are just seeing more juvenile shrimp, which is a good sign for business for years to come,” he said.

He said he believes that warmer waters are forcing a cold-water fish that preys on shrimp to migrate out of the area.

“That means that a lot more of the baby shrimp survive,” he said.

Launius, who has been a captain of a sport fishing boat for 13 years, said the abundance of fish caught most fishermen by surprise.

On a recent tour, Launius said he was forced to return to dock early because all his customers caught their limit of three fish in a few hours.

Most of the yellowtail tuna his customers reeled in where between 25 and 30 pounds, he said.