Two pufferfish wash up along Monterey Bay coast

El Nino is bringing more than just rain to the Central Coast. Warmer waters and ocean currents are now bringing tropical species to our shores.

Two pufferfish were found on shore about4 miles south of Marina State Beach.

Rachel Kippen with Save Our Shores stumbled upon the fish last week. She believes they are porcupinefish, which are extremely rare in this regionconsidering they only live in warmer waters far south of the Monterey Bay. The two fish come at a time when warmer El Nino waters are carrying tropical marine life out of their typical range.

Kippen said that’s a concern.

“Is this what the future of the Monterey Bay is going to look like? Is it going to continuously get warmer every single year? Are we going to see tropical species moving their habitat further north? In that way it’s a bit scary,” said Kippen.

Other strange visitors to the Monterey Bay include thousands of pelagic red crabs that washed ashore earlier this month. Experts said that hasn’t happened this far north since 1982.

A venomous yellow-bellied sea snake was also spotted on the beaches of Malibu.