A Los Angeles influencer has posted footage of a shark gliding through ankle-deep surf just feet from board-riding locals at El Porto Beach.
Josh Hublitz, a social media content creator, shared the video on Instagram last Friday after filming the encounter at the Manhattan Beach break. The clip shows the animal’s dorsal fin slicing through shallow water within yards of surfers who remained in the lineup.
“Surfing with sharks in Los Angeles… I’ve actually never seen a shark in El Porto before. This is the first,” Hublitz wrote on Instagram.
“Ankle deep water. That is super sketch,” he added in a follow-up comment beneath the post.
The shark’s species has not been officially confirmed, though one Instagram user who viewed the footage speculated the creature was a harmless baby thresher shark, noting that the species typically hunts baitfish close to shore.
The El Porto encounter arrives during a pronounced spike in shark activity along Southern California’s coastline that has put beach communities on heightened alert in recent weeks.
On Tuesday, the Huntington Beach Fire Department closed a two-mile stretch of sand after reports of an aggressive 10- to 12-foot great white shark circling near Lifeguard Tower 16. The closure marked one of the most serious responses to the regional uptick in sightings.
In late June, a 9-foot great white was spotted off La Jolla, prompting officials to post warning signs though no aggressive behavior was reported.
Marine researchers have connected the surge to unusually warm ocean temperatures tied to a powerful El Niño pattern that has altered coastal ecosystems. Scientists say the warmer waters may be pushing some shark species north from their traditional habitats, bringing them into proximity with heavily used beaches.
The temperature shift has produced other anomalous marine encounters beyond shark sightings. Two endangered olive ridley sea turtles were discovered nesting on Orange County beaches near Seal Beach and Huntington Beach Pier, marking the first documented nests of the species on the West Coast.
Additional unusual visitors have included a rare hammerhead shark off Malibu and venomous sea snakes spotted along portions of the Southern California coastline.
Hublitz’s footage captured a moment that has become increasingly familiar to Southern California surfers who once considered shark encounters a distant concern at local breaks. The proximity of the animal to shore, combined with the shallow depth where it was swimming, underscored how far the pattern has shifted from historical norms for the region.
The influencer’s reaction of surprise at seeing any shark at El Porto, a break he apparently knows well, reflects the changing expectations of even experienced water users in the area.
The Huntington Beach closure from Tuesday’s aggressive great white report remains the most severe official response to date, though no injuries have been reported in any of the recent incidents.