When students at Scripps Research Institute first spotted this large, black mass in the ocean, it appeared a lot like an oil spill. But when they took a closer look they found the largest school of anchovies seen in decades off the San Diego, California coast.
Julia Fieldler is studying oceanography. She and a few other researchers borrowed a Go-Pro camera to capture the underwater video captured below. It shows a thick, black band of fish extending for several miles in the water.
The school of fish was estimated to be 15 feet deep! The fish didn’t only attract the scientists, it also attracted several leopard sharks that took advantage of the huge school to feed. Julia says the sharks are harmless, and that she was never afraid.
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