Monterey Bay in the running for “Best Place to See Aquatic Life”

The Monterey Bay is in the running for the “Best Place to See Aquatic Life” by USA TODAY.

I”ve never seen life like this that we have in our Monterey Marine Sanctuary,” said Keith Stemler with Chris’ Fishing Trips.

Monterey is going head to head with 20 places in the United States as the best for seeing aquatic life in rivers, lakes and oceans.

“Just reinforces our position that we are the most inspirational destination,” said Alliah Sheta, director of Communications and Community Relations with the Monterey County Convention Visitors Bureau.

And why did the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary make the list?

For starters it has nearly 300 miles of shoreline and hundreds of different species of fish, marine mammals and birds.

“I compare the Monterey Bay to the Serengeti out of all the oceans throughout all the world,” said Stemler.

Whale watching companies said sightings of sea lions, dolphins and whales are only getting better because warmer temperatures in the water are helping with the food supply.

“We had a group of humpback whales that stayed with us here this winter,” said Bejji Shake, owner and operator of Princess Monterey Whale Watching. “Normally those guys are out in the fall, so we’ve been watching humpbacks this winter and as well as the grey whale migration going south and back north.”

The push to get Monterey in the number one spot is all over social media.

The Monterey County Convention Visitors Bureau said so far this year they’ve snagged close to $40 million in free advertisements highlighting the area and this contest will only help out more.

“Publications like USA Today are important and make more of a difference than paid advertising,” said Sheta. “We do a combination of both to maximize the investment dollars that we have here.”

If Monterey does or does not take the number one spot, businesses say the publicity alone is an economic boost.

“Every time you go out there and tell people this is a special place, an amazing place to see ocean life, more and more people are going to come here for the right reasons and spend their time,” said Ken Peterson, Communications Director for the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Click here to vote. You can voteuntil March 28.

Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary inMassachusettsis currently in first place.