Thousands of tuna crabs recently started washing ashore by the thousands along the beaches near Monterey.
The problem is that tuna crabs are rarely seen this far north, the water is usually too cold.
There is growing evidence that the El Nino forming along the equator in the Pacific is getting stronger.
Little red crabs which normally live in warmer waters farther south near the Baja Peninsula, color in red the beaches near Monterey.
In late spring and early summer, similar strandings occurred in Southern California, primarily in San Diego and Orange counties.
At this point, no one knows for sure how long the tuna crabs will be here. But one thing is sure, the red pelagic crabs shouldn’t be there. Last time such an event occurred in Monterey was in the 1980’s.
