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Largest school of anchovy seen in 30 years moves like 'lava lamp' off San Diego coast
An aggregation of anchovy amassed near Scripps Pier at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego in La Jolla, Calif. on July 8, 2014. Footage from Scripps Pier and underwater by Julia Fiedler, Sean Crosby and Bonnie Ludka.
A massive school of Northern Anchovy that has formed in the waters off La Jolla is the largest seen in 30 years, according to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
The UC San Diego-based research center posted a video to its website on Tuesday showing the the giant school darkening the water as surfers and swimmers looked on.
A large crowd formed at the Scripps pier around mid-morning to watch, Robert Monroe, a communications officer with Scripps, told the Los Angeles Times:
"It was remarkable. From a distance it looked like an oil slick and you think 'What happened?' and then you get up close and it's amazing," he said. "It's like watching the motion of a lava lamp."
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