Possible Pufferfish Found On Monterey Bay Beach Linked To El Niño

MONTEREY (CBS SF) -- Two pufferfish may have been spotted on a Monterey Bay beach, far north of their usual range of habitat, according to the Santa Cruz-based conservation group Save Our Shores.

The fish were spotted last weekend roughly four miles south of Marina State Beach during a 20-mile hike from Sunset State Beach in Santa Cruz County to Del Monte Beach in Monterey County, according to Program Director Rachel Kippen.

"I believe that the two puffers I saw were porcupine fish, which are more commonly found in Baja California, but I'd want to get a second opinion," Kippen said in a statement Thursday.

Pufferfish sightings are rare in the Monterey Bay since the species typically lives in warmer waters to the south.

This year's El Niño weather pattern may be a factor, according to Save our Shores, given some of the other rare sightings like pelagic red crabs -- which washed ashore last week for the first time since 1982.

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