More Anchovies Than You Can Count

A massive school of tiny silver fish flowed around the coast of La Jolla, California Tuesday afternoon, wowing onlookers and experts alike.

The massive school of anchovies glided right by Scripps Peir late Tuesday morning to the delight of a crowd of students from Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO). Robert Monroe, a Scripps communications officer initially ran down to the pier when he noticed a large crowd of students gathered by the water.

"It was remarkable. From a distance it looked like an oil slick and you think 'What happened?' and then you get up close and it's amazing," he told the Los Angeles Times. "It's like watching the motion of a lava lamp."

Thinking quick, the communications officer reportedly tossed three graduate students his GoPro camera as they headed into the water to swim with school.

You can see all the stunning pictures they took at the flickr album the institute made to showcase this rare sighting. A video is below.

[Credit: SIO / Julia Fiedler, Sean Crosby and Bonnie Ludka.]

"This anchovy phenomenon hasn't been seen by Scripps scientists for more than 30 years," the institute later reported on its fabebook page.

According to a brief release, it remains unclear even to these oceanic experts why the anchovies began swimming in such shallow waters. However, later reports also indicated that a leopard shark was also spotted amidst the school.

It is likely that the shark was simply drawn into these shallow waters as well with the temptation of an all-you-can-eat buffet, but there is a slim chance that both the shark and the fish were fleeing a larger predator.

Phil Hastings, curator of the marine vertebrate collection at Scripps admitted to City News Service that why exactly the school came so close to the shore is likely to remain a mystery.

"I don't think we'll be able to ferret it out," he said.

Still, according to Hastings, this is likely the warmest water the species has ever been reported in - at 74 degrees Fahrenheit.