White Seabass Restoration Project Information
Background
The White Seabass Restoration Project was established to reintroduce white seabass to California coastal waters. Once an important game fish and commercial food fish, white seabass have virtually disappeared from California. Surveys show the loss of habitat, specifically the loss of wetlands that are important nursery habitats for the fish, along with heavy commercial fishing, and the development of gill nets have depleted the white seabass populations to 10% of what they were only 50 years ago.To change this course, the California Department of Fish and Game instituted the "Oceans Resources and Hatchery Enhancement Program" (ORHEP), and funded the Hubbs-Seaworld Research Institute's (HSWRI) experimental marine fish hatchery in Carlsbad, California. At this facility, white seabass are bred from larval stage to 3-inches at which point a small "tag" inscribed with fertilization date and brood stock information is inserted into the jaw bone of the juvenile fish. The fish are then transported to one of 15 grow-out facilities along the California coast.
Volunteer Component
SDOF maintains two grow-out facilities and is one of the major volunteer components of the HSWRI program. The grow-out facilities consist of netted pens in the bay. This is an economical way to maintain large volumes of fish prior to release and allow the developing fish to acclimate to ocean water.After 3-4 months, the fish reach a size of about 12 inches and are released from the pens directly into local waters - in hopes that they will survive to adulthood. To date, more than 1,000,000 white seabass have been released to the ocean through the ORHEP Program - 90,000+ of which were reared by SDOF volunteers!
Resources
Visit our Sustainable Seafood Choices page to learn how you can make choices that support healthy oceans when eating a seafood meal!10News Broadcast of SDOF White Seabass Release
Union Tribune Article on White Seabass Restoration Project