The Tide Is Out

Do Sharks Live in the Tide Pools?

This is a super common question, usually asked out of fear or desire to see something as cool as a shark. And as turns out, the answer is a resounding yes! Sharks live everywhere in our oceans and it’s certainly possible that you might see one in the tide pools. 

However, how often you will see a shark in the tide pools depends on where you go and what you consider to be a tide pool. There are plenty of intertidal areas like sea grass beds and sandy shores that small sharks might visit at high tide, but you won’t typically see sharks in rocky pools that are isolated from the ocean as they are too small for them to survive or hunt in. If you’re tide pooling in a rocky area, your best bet for seeing a small shark is to peer into open water past the rock pools.

Another strategy is to look for large, relatively calm pools that have access to open water but are protected from the surf. These areas make excellent hunting grounds for small leopard or zebra sharks that can lie on the bottom and wait for their prey of small fish and crustaceans to come by. Some sharks are particularly fond of sea grass beds like the one below where they can hide beneath the moving grass.

Humans have little to fear from any shark, but have nearly nothing to fear from any shark you see in the tide pools. If you see one in California, you are likely seeing a small leopard or zebra shark which pose no threat to you at all. 

There are a variety of reasons that sharks might come near the tide pools or into shallow water. One reason is to get away from larger sharks that might prey on them. Coming into shallower waters also means more opportunities for small sharks to hunt without competition. 

Small sharks might also come into shallow or intertidal waters to care for young. In La Jolla, hundreds of leopard sharks gather every summer in very shallow waters to take advantage of the warmth while incubating their young. The photo above was taking while snorkeling at La Jolla in only about two feet of water. The Cabrillo tide pools are also known to have frequent leopard shark visitors in late summer when the water is warmer.

In the South Pacific, the epaulette shark is often found in tide pools where it “walks” on its fins and feeds on crustaceans and other invertebrates. You won’t see these in the California tide pools, but you can see one at the Aquarium of the Pacific.

Most sharks that frequent the tide pools won’t “live” there all the time, but come and go into shallow off-shore waters as the tides turn. If you see a shark in the tide pools, consider yourself lucky, as they are not usual sightings.