Are Sharks Seeking Sea Change Due To Climate Change?
On January 19, 2026, a Reddit user, abcnews_au claimed that due to climate change, sharks are seeking for sea change. This claim, shared on January 19, 2026 was picked from the SPOTAI platform, a disinformation tracker tool.
VERIFICATION
Sharks are mostly ectothermic. Their body temperature and physiology are strongly influenced by surrounding water temperatures. This makes them sensitive to thermal changes, which in turn affects where they can comfortably hunt, feed, and reproduce.
According to the Marine Megafauna Foundation, sharks can change where they live and how they behave in response to rising ocean temperatures.” As water temperature increases, the shark’s metabolism does too. They have to swim faster to deliver sufficient oxygen to their bodies, eat more to supply energy, or suppress their growth and reproduction to compensate. While they can expand their distribution into cooler waters to adjust to rising ocean temperatures, tropical surface waters are becoming inhabitable, resulting in an overall range contraction.”
Tiger sharks in the Atlantic are moving farther north and arriving earlier in the year as sea temperatures rise, tracking their preferred thermal conditions. Species distribution models predict that many shark species will shift their ranges poleward or into deeper waters as they attempt to stay within optimal temperature zones. Observations link warming oceans with expanded distributions for warm-water species such as whale sharks, hammerheads, and tiger sharks appearing in areas previously too cool for them.
Not all shark species respond the same way. Some may move to cooler waters, others may alter behaviour or timing of migrations, and some are less able to shift range because of life history or habitat constraints.Changes are species-specific and can differ depending on local conditions, prey availability, and ecological interactions.
As ocean warming is altering shark behaviour and distribution, many of the species are responding to rising temperatures by shifting where they live and how they migrate, particularly those that rely on specific thermal ranges.
CONCLUSION
The claim that sharks are seeking for sea change due to climate change is PARTIALLY TRUE. The idea that sharks universally seek sea change simplifies a nuanced scientific reality. Their movements are governed by a mix of temperature, prey movements, habitat conditions, and species-specific biology, not a single climate factor.
