Meet the Grunion   2012 Dates: March 10, April 8 & 23, May 7 & 22, June 5 & 21, July 20 

Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, 3720 Stephen M. White Drive, San Pedro, CA 90731
310-548-7562
cabrillomarineaquarium.org

8:00 PM
Watch the silvery fish come up on the beach to spawn! Learn about the interesting mating rituals and growth of this curious fish. The Aquarium opens at 8 pm and an auditorium program begins at 9, followed by guided observation at the beach. Warm clothing and a flashlight are recommended. April and May are closed season. March, June and July are open season, when grunion may be taken by hand only and a valid California fishing license must be displayed if you are 16 years or older.

$5 adults, $1 seniors, students and children.
FRIENDS Members: FREE

FRIENDS ONLY Grunion Run Saturday, March 24, 2012 8:00 PM Watch the silvery fish come up on the beach to spawn! Learn about the interesting mating rituals and growth of this curious fish. The Aquarium opens at 8 pm and an auditorium program begins at 9, followed by guided observation at the beach. Warm clothing and a flashlight are recommended. April and May are closed season. March, June and July are open season, when grunion may be taken by hand only and a valid California fishing license must be displayed if you are 16 years or older. FRIENDS Members: FREE

CALIFORNIA GRUNION -- While many believe that Grunion Greeters are kind folks trained to welcome people and teach them how to catch grunion that spawn on California's beaches each spring, the truth is that the group, Grunion Greeters, is a trained  volunteer corps of citizen scientists working with researchers from  NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) -  National Marine Fisheries Service in conjunction with Pepperdine University to track this  fish population.

According to a NOAA regional official, there's no solid understanding about the beaches grunion like to frequent, and no count of the grunion run populations to monitor the health of the species.

Launched around 2002 when San Diego was using beach grooming practices that may impact grunion populations and runs, Grunion Greeters grew out of  concern surrounding these issues.

Pepperdine University Professor of Biology, Karen Martin, organized a program to monitor the grunion behaviors during runs. Requiring large numbers of people to help carry out the study, a training program was created and put into place. Protocols for observation and data collection assured better, more accurate results.

The initial  year Grunion Greeter program under the training and direction of Melissa Studer, marine conservationist,  was deployed as a 100 citizen "army" of  scientists to "run" with the grunion. Expanding form 100 greeters to 500 in seven years,  a territory from San Diego to San Francisco encompassed over approx. 600 miles of beaches, and an awareness that the grunion runs were occurring further north than previously recognized.

How it works: During the peak spawning months of April and May volunteers stand watch during expected run times.  Assessing the strength of the grunion runs ranging from no fish spawning to thousands of fish spawning for an hour or longer, Grunion Greeters record their observations, including weather conditions and presence of predators.

It seems humans are not the only ones to pick on the fish-- birds, marine mammals, and even sharks will jump onto the beach and grab the grunion in delightful feeding frenzies.

While the animals and fish are free to eat as they please, humans are regulated and can only catch the fish during during certain months of an open season. Grunion Greeters act as stewards, informing people about the rules & regulations, which is where the perception that they are strictly goodwill ambassadors to human populations probably came from.

Mostly funded by NOAA Fisheries, the Grunion Greeters program has yielded valuable data to help plan future beach restorations and policies for grunion runs.