MALIBU— On August 15, a Southern California photographer, Carlos Guana, also known as The Malibu Artist, captured great video footage of great white sharks swimming off the Malibu coast. The artist posted his work that can be viewed on his Instagram footage with the following information.
“Yesterday, we had a couple[of] great whites roaming near the iconic Malibu Pier. I expect there will be more in the coming weeks. It’s not out of the ordinary folks. There’re quite a few sharks out here regardless of year. The biggest difference I’m seeing is that they are around year-round more often now.”
The shark sightings do seem to be more frequent, and there appears to be so many more sharks.
It was also on August 15th that a Hammerhead Shark was briefly hooked on a fisherman’s line at Malibu Pier.
On July 20, multiple news outlets covered a Great White Shark sighting, as it appeared to be at least 10 feet long, and swimming dangerously close to the young human swimmers. Guana, who was there, capturing the moment on film, made the following statement.
“I don’t often get nervous, but this was one of those rare instances where I did. The young swimmers had no idea.”
California State University at Long Beach (CSULB) students who study marine life at what is often referred to as The Shark Lab, are setting up Shark Shacks along Southern California beaches to reduce fear of their sharks.
Students at the Shark Shacks are there to inform the public not only about sharks, but other marine life that the public may encounter. On their website, the Shark Lab states, “We will have information and activities for all ages.”
According to CSULB the summer of 2026 has been a “sharky summer,” due to the warm water temperatures.
The warmer water is reportedly caused by the intensifying El Niño pattern. Warmer waters bring on earlier migrations. Young sharks have been more prevalent in the shallow waters closer to the shore.
