Unusual Small Tropical Fish Spotted In Jersey Shore Waters

JERSEY SHORE — Along the shoreline over the past several weeks, beachgoers have spotted a tiny, orange tropical fish - one that's certainly a long way from home.

The fish has been identified as a short bigeye, according to NJ Advance Media. Social media users have reported seeing this small fish in places like Sea Bright, Holgate and Ocean City, all of which are quite far from its normal range of North Carolina south to Brazil.

Beachgoers who spotted the short bigeyes shared their findings on Facebook and on Reddit, some noting that the Nemo-like creatures were found in tide pools.

It may be surprising to learn that it's actually not super unusual to see tropical fish up here. According to local nonprofit Save Coastal Wildlife, juvenile fish can get swept to the Jersey Shore via the Gulf Stream current. The group does fish surveys and varieties of tropical fish have been discovered in these, most often in late summer or early fall.

And short bigeye have been found among these too, according to experts.

“The species has shown up occasionally in the 34 years of regular trawling, seining, and plankton collection and class field studies started under Ken Able and continuing under Roland Hagan and me,” Thomas Grothues, a professor with Rutgers University’s Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, told NJ Advance Media.

Though they have been found going back decades, their occasional appearance hasn't been studied too extensively, so there's not a wealth of information as to why the tropical species is coming north. One expert told NJ Advance Media that some fish have been expanding in the north while their historical populations decline in the south.

“Most likely, the spawning adult populations are progressing northward and/or the juvenile expatriates are surviving longer,” Grothues told the outlet of short bigeye and other species.

So, while seeing the small orange fish may be a surprise at the shore, it's not too unusual and nothing to be concerned about, according to the experts.