Pete Thomas Outdoors

Alien-like shark caught off Cabo San Lucas identified

By Pete Thomas

A tourist in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, on Tuesday reeled from the depths a mysterious alien-like fish that looks somewhat like an albino shark.

The peculiar specimen – pinkish-white, with a distended stomach – was caught a mile offshore by a Chicago angler fishing with Capt. Jaime Rendon of the panga, Dr. Pescado. The shark was photographed, then released.

The photos appeared Tuesday night on the Pisces Sportfishing Fleet’s Facebook page, under the heading, “ALIEN FISH IN CABO?”

Tracy Ehrenberg, Pisces general manager, sent the images to biologists in Mexico, hoping for an identification.

We emailed the images to the California’s Monterey Bay Aquarium, and were told that it’s an albino or leucistic swell shark, given its lack of pigmentation.

David A. Ebert, director of the Pacific Shark Research Center Moss Landing Marine Laboratories in Central California, confirmed that it's a swell shark and added that there's only one type of swell shark known to the Eastern Pacific (Cephaloscyllium ventriosum).

"This is clearly a swell shark, no doubt about that, and I am pretty certain it's the species I mentioned," Ebert said.

La Paz-based shark expert Felipe Galván-Magaña ultimately agreed via email that the shark Rendon caught was, in fact, Cephaloscyllium ventriosum.

But it was an odd specimen, with only three gill slits on either side of its head (compared to the 5 to 7 gill slits normally found on sharks), and three rows of very small, nub-like teeth.

Swell sharks, according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium website, expand with water or air when the sharks feel threatened. They're found from southern Mexico to California, and are timid around humans unless provoked.

The catch is somewhat reminiscent of the Sea of Cortez catch, in 2011, of what was widely described as the one-eyed “Cyclops” shark.

That catch was initially thought to be a hoax, but the shark turned out to be a deformed fetus pulled from either a bull or dusky shark hauled up by commercial fishermen near La Paz.

–Photos are courtesy of Pisces Sportfishing

Hurricane Sandra still a major storm, but will weaken as it passes beneath Cabo San Lucas

Hurricane Sandra, which on Thursday morning was a major hurricane boasting sustained winds of 130 mph, is expected to weaken rapidly later in the day as it begins to veer to the northeast, toward the Mexican mainland.

Sandra is expected to pass beneath Cabo San Lucas, at Baja California’s tip, as a tropical storm (winds of 73 mph or lighter) late Friday.

There were no warnings in effect but the National Hurricane Center issued this caution in its 8 a.m. report:

"INTERESTS IN SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE BAJA CALIFORNIA PENINSULA
SHOULD MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF SANDRA.  A TROPICAL STORM WATCH MAY
BE REQUIRED FOR PORTIONS OF THIS AREA LATER TODAY."

Sandra, the most powerful Eastern Pacific hurricane known to have occurred this late in the year, was located 495 miles south of Baja California’s tip early Thursday.

–Hurricane Sandra image courtesy of NASA

Tropical Storm Sandra intensifies, poised to reach Cabo San Lucas as a late-season hurricane

Tropical Storm Sandra, a late-season cyclone that developed Tuesday off southern Mexico, is poised to deliver heavy rain, strong winds and flooding in Cabo San Lucas and elsewhere in Baja Sur, and on the mainland coast later this week.

On Tuesday afternoon the storm was located 525 miles south-southwest of Manzanillo and packing sustained winds of 65 mph.

But Sandra was intensifying rapidly and is expected to attain hurricane strength (74-mph winds or stronger) by Tuesday night. According to the National Hurricane Center, Sandra’s projected path shows a potential hit on Baja California’s tip as early as Friday afternoon.

The were were no warnings or watches in effect as of Tuesday afternoon.

Sandra is one of the latest-forming tropical storms known to forecasters. This is because of unusually warm waters in the region, thanks in large part to a powerful El Niño that's still developing in the equatorial Pacific.

Writes Jeff Masters and Bob Henson for Weather Underground:

“Conditions are quite favorable for Sandra to intensify over the next couple of days, with record-warm sea surface temperatures of 29-30°C (84-86°F) and wind shear of less than 10 knots beneath an upper-level high arcing around the storm.

“The official NHC forecast issued at 10 am EST Tuesday brings Sandra to Category 2 strength, with peak winds of 100 mph by Thursday. NHC’s Rapid Intensification Index shows roughly a 50-50 chance that Sandra will strengthen by at least 30 knots in the next 24 hours.

“If Sandra does reach Category 2 strength, it will be the strongest Eastern Pacific hurricane known to exist so late in the year. All of the six cyclones above were tropical storms or Category 1 hurricanes except for Kenneth, which hit Category 4 strength on November 24, 2011. Kenneth is the latest-occurring major hurricane in Eastern Pacific.”

Cabo San Lucas angler's 102-pound dorado would shatter world record, but there's a catch

 A dorado caught off Cabo San Lucas last week was said to have weighed 102 pounds, which is 15 pounds heavier than a world record that has stood since 1976.

The massive dorado–a.k.a mahi-mahi or dolphinfish–was caught by Brian Lindsey, a visitor from Mississippi, aboard Shambala, a yacht chartered through Pisces Sportfishing.

The weight was obtained using a hand spring scale, and the fish was quickly filleted because the crew didn’t want the meat to spoil in the hot weather. So it cannot qualify as a record, and nobody will ever know what it might have weighed on a certified scale.

"The fish was weighed on a typical hanging scale," Lindsey said. "Again, we have extensive documentation of the fish, and a video of capture. It  was also measured and documented by a local biologist, who gave a weight estimate based off length and size."

Pisces managers did not know about the fish until the Shambala anglers entered the office after returning to port, according to Pisces general manager Tracy Ehrenberg.

As soon as they were shown photos they telephoned the fillet dock to try to prevent the cutting process, but they were too late.

“If the fish truly weighed 102 pounds, we knew without looking [at the record book] that this would be the biggest dorado ever caught on rod and reel,” Ehrenberg said.

 

The dorado was hooked on a silver-and-black lure on the Pacific side of the Baja California peninsula, and landed after a 20-minute fight on 50-pound-test line.

The International Game Fish Association lists as the all-tackle world record for dolphinfish–dorado is the Spanish name, meaning “golden one”–an 87-pounder caught off Costa Rica in 1976.

–Photos courtesy of Pisces Sportfishing

 

Thresher shark bite 'best ever' at East Cape north of Cabo

Marlin fishing is picking up in the East Cape region of the Sea of Cortez, but the big news is a phenomenal thresher shark bite occurring at the marlin grounds.

Thresher sharks are not new to the area, especially in the spring, but catches typically are very sporadic.

John Ireland, who owns Rancho Leonero Resort, said the sharks are concentrated off the town of La Ribera and being caught consistently by anglers fishing for marlin.

“The best thresher fishing ever on the East Cape,” Ireland stated Sunday in his weekly report, adding that the ratio for hookups is about one thresher for every two marlin. The marlin and sharks are being hooked mostly on deep-trolled ballyhoo.

“The fleet is boating fish under 200 pounds. The larger sharks with those huge tails are giving anglers a long, long fight and breaking off,” Ireland said.

The accompanying images were captured by Jen Wren Sportfishing.

Owner Mark Rayor said he could not explain why there's so large a concentration of thresher sharks, but said they most likely are feeding on squid in deep water.

–Pete Thomas

–Images are courtesy of Jen Wren Sportfishing

 

Cabo San Lucas tourist dies after breaching whale hits boat

Generic Cabo San Lucas breaching whale photo is courtesy of ©Frankie Grant

 By Pete Thomas/GrindTv

A Canadian tourist was killed Wednesday off Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, after a breaching whale landed on the boat she was aboard as it was returning from a snorkeling trip in the Sea of Cortez.

Several other passengers were injured during the freak accident, which occurred at about noon, as the inflatable boat was returning from Santa Maria Bay, a popular dive spot near Baja California’s tip.

Details were scarce late Wednesday but the victim has been identified as Jeniffer Karren, 35, of Calgary. Six other passengers were hurt.

Karren, from Calgary, died while being treated at a nearby clinic.

A gray whale was initially said to have been involved, but it was later confirmed that it was a humpback whale.

Whales sometimes breach but are usually aware of the presence of nearby boats, especially if the boats are running.

Crazy day in Cabo San Lucas: two giant blue marlin battled into the night

By Pete Thomas/GrindTv

Cabo San Lucas is one of the world’s premier marlin-fishing destinations, but even so, it’s a rare day when two giant marlin are hooked on the same day, at about the same time, and battled well into the night.

On Tuesday, word rapidly spread through the Mexican resort town at Baja California’s tip that town that a large marlin–perhaps a grander weighing 1,000 pounds or more–was being fought aboard the yacht, Mucho Loco.

Tracy Ehrenberg, who runs Pisces Sportfishing, stated on the company blog that she received a call at 9 p.m., informing her that a large marlin was being weighed at the main scale in the marina.
She and her employees rushed over to discover that a marlin weighing 683 pounds was hanging on the scale. But part of its head and bill resting on the ground, so the actual weight was in the 700-pound range.

The 13-foot marlin had been hooked at 10:15 a.m.; the battle lasted nearly 10 hours. Presumably, the fish was too close to death to be released.

Kevin Lautt, from North Dakota, was one of the anglers, and is quoted as saying, “This is my first time in Cabo and my first time deep-sea fishing. The biggest fish I’ve ever caught is a 15-pound northern pike.”

But this marlin was caught aboard Bad Medicine, not Mucho Loco.

Ehrenberg figured that she had simply received incorrect boat information, but wondered why Mario Banaga, who is always on hand taking photographs when a big marlin arrives in the marina, was not present for the weigh-in.

It turned out that Banaga was at a different scale on the other side of the marina. Mucho Loco had pulled in with its blue marlin, which tipped the scale at 773 pounds.

Two men, aged 74 and 79 years, teamed to fight this marlin for 5-plus hours; a remarkable feat considering their ages.

Most marlin caught in Cabo are released; that practice is strongly encouraged. But for whatever reason, this marlin also was brought in.

Wrote Ehrenberg:

"There is always a tinge of sadness to see these magnificent creatures on the dock and not in the ocean, but this is great news for Cabo San Lucas, helping the town hold its position as one of the top fishing destinations in the world.

"A lot of families still being affected economically from [Hurricane Odile, which slammed Cabo in September] will have plenty of quality food for weeks to come and the anglers will have memories to last a lifetime."

It was a loco day at Land's End, to be sure.

–Image showing both blue marlin is courtesy of Pisces Sportfishing

Free-jumping sharks soar into the spotlight (photos)

By Pete Thomas/GrindTv

I spend hours a day scouring social media sites and see all kinds of shark images, but this week two images stood out for the same reason: The sharks were free jumpers.

It’s no secret that certain sharks will occasionally breach, but to capture this event with a camera is somewhat rare, unless the shark has been hooked and is trying to get free.

The first image that caught my eye was that of a thresher shark leaping high above the surface beyond Cabo San Lucas at Baja California’s tip (posted at top and bottom).

The image, captured by Frankie Grant, was posted to Facebook on Sunday by Cabo Trek. It has since been shared from that page more than 1,300 times.

In a response to seeing this photo, Bernardo Alps, a Southern California photographer, posted an image showing a free-jumping mako shark. Alps photographed the sequence from aboard the Voyager outside of King Harbor in Redondo Beach (middle sequence).

Alps said the shark jumped twice, with the second coming about 15 seconds after the first. After seeing the first jump, the photographer anticipated the second.

Presumably, the thresher breach was captured after Grant spotted the initial breach.

Threshers and makos are both known to jump, but again, that is most commonly witnessed after the predators are hooked by anglers.

Anyway, I’m just sharing these shots because they stand out among so many fairly routine underwater shark images, and because they reveal another dynamic of shark behavior.

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Cabo San Lucas recovery update: Airport to reopen soon; hotels to reopen beginning Oct. 1

*Sept. 26 update: Alaska Airlines and United Airlines have begun booking flights to Los Cabos, beginning Oct. 8. Click here for details.

*Sept. 23 update: This post has been updated to reflect that commercial flights to and from Los Cabos International Airport might NOT resume before the end of the month, or even well into October. The government had hoped for a September 27 reopening.

Cabo San Lucas has made remarkable strides toward recovery from the overwhelming devastation caused by Hurricane Odile on September 14-15.

But prospective tourists still have many questions regarding opening dates for hotels, the reopening of Los Cabos International Airport, and the restoration of power and water services.

Today we received some official government estimates, emailed by Pisces Group, that will answer many of these questions:

–Los Cabos International Airport, which received damage to both main terminals, is scheduled to reopen on a limited basis September 27.

(Note: Prospective travelers should consult with airlines. Alaska Airlines, for example, has not yet begun to take reservations for flights to the airport (SJD). Alaska Airlines stated Monday: "We are prepared to resume daily flights between Los Angeles and Los Cabos as soon as the airport and infrastructure are repaired and can accomodate commercial air service.")

–Cabo San Lucas Airport will reopen October 10*


–Power restored:  45%


–Water Restored:  Already mostly restored, full restoration is close

–Phone service: Restored


–Internet service: Restored

–Garbage Pick-up:  Resumed


–Most hotels are scheduled to reopen from October 1 through October 15


–Bisbee's Black & Blue Marlin Jackpot Fishing Tournament:  On as scheduled beginning October 17



* The CSL Airport reports on its Facebook page that it has been operating normally (days only) since September 17

For California brown pelicans, another major blow; breeding season described as 'a bust'

Just when it seemed as though the California brown pelican population was flourishing, having rebounded from near-extinction over the past century, the iconic birds have suffered another significant setback.

The University of California at Davis has released findings of a survey that reveal a sharp decline in the number of breeding pairs in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez, also known as the Gulf of California.

About 90% of California brown pelicans breed and raise their chicks in the gulf. Biologists visit sites that typically hold tens of thousands of nesting birds.

But this year many those sites were alarmingly deserted, in some cases totally deserted.

“That’s what we call a failure, a bust. The bottom dropped out,” Dan Anderson, a UC Davis biologist who was part of a survey team that also involved a Mexican ecological group, told ABC News.

California brown pelicans can often be seen soaring up and down the California coast, and their abundance during the past few years seemed to indicate a burgeoning population.

But if a new year class is substantially diminished, as it seems to be, far fewer pelicans might be seen in the next few years.

It’s possible that the crash could be linked to a developing El Niño in the equatorial mid-Pacific.

Water temperatures are warmer than normal in the Sea of Cortez and bait populations have shifted, affecting the pelicans’ ability to find food.

However, there could be more to this problem than a developing El Niño.

"During most El Niño events we've seen, numbers of nesting attempts drop by at least half to two-thirds, and production goes down, too," Anderson said, in a UC Davis statement. "But it drops from thousands to hundreds, not to 10 or less."

California brown pelicans, in recent decades, began a remarkable comeback after nearly being wiped out because of DDT pesticide poisoning.

They were declared an endangered species in 1970, and removed from the list in 2009, when their population was estimated to number 150,000.

The large birds, which feed by plunging into the water and catching fish with their large beaks, are found as far north as Washington.

–Pete Thomas

–Photo: Two California brown pelicans rest atop a rock earlier this month beyond Cabo San Lucas at Land's End. Credit: ©Pete Thomas