Two state beaches near Huntington Beach, California, have recorded more than 3,100 stingray sting incidents so far in 2026, roughly twice the total for all of 2025, as warmer coastal waters and an expected strong El Niño pull round stingrays closer to shore, according to researcher Chris Lowe.
Stingray sting incidents double near Huntington Beach as warm waters draw more rays to California coast
Two state beaches near Huntington Beach, California, have recorded more than 3,100 stingray sting incidents so far in 2026, roughly twice the total for all of 2025, as warmer coastal waters and an expected strong El Niño pull round stingrays closer to shore, according to researcher Chris Lowe.
At Seal Beach, 45 km southeast of downtown Los Angeles, Lowe and his team caught, measured, and tagged dozens of round stingrays before releasing them. Lowe estimates that more than 16,000 stingrays can gather in an area the size of a football field in a single day.
The species has concentrated at Seal Beach for at least 60 years, aided by warm water discharged from a nearby power plant and fine sediments that provide suitable habitat.
Lowe said Southern California records the highest number of stingray injuries, largely because round stingrays bury themselves in the sand and can strike when people step on them. He expects incidents to increase as El Niño warms coastal waters and draws more subtropical rays north from Baja California.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said a marine heatwave has already persisted off parts of the US West Coast for an unusually long period.
- The source does not state the total number of sting incidents recorded for all of 2025 at the two beaches, only that 2026 figures are about twice that total.
- The source does not identify which two state beaches near Huntington Beach recorded the 3,100-plus incidents.
- The source does not state the severity or medical outcomes of the recorded sting incidents.
- The source does not identify the power plant near Seal Beach whose warm water discharge is referenced.
- The source does not state what methodology Lowe used to produce the estimate of more than 16,000 stingrays per football-field-sized area.
- The source does not specify the current strength or forecast confidence level of the expected El Niño.