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Grunion run: the bizarre spectacle caught on film

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on April 15, 2008 at 6:33 am

From the Los Angeles Times:

In the darkness of a new moon, a dozen black-crowned night herons landed on a San Pedro beach and stood like sentinels facing the open ocean. “That’s a good sign,” whispered marine biology researcher Jenn Corpuz, 26. “The herons know there is something coming.”

Suddenly, the surf shimmered with flashes of silver, and a few small, slender fish wriggled on shore, as if to size up the situation. Then thousands of fish began riding in on the swells and piling up on the beach in writhing clots. “Grunion!” she said. “Turn on your flashlights, everybody!”

About 400 onlookers dashed to the shore to witness the reproductive mayhem of Leuresthes tenuis, the iconic Southern California fish that leaves its briny realm to mate on the sand.

They also were watching the launch of a scientific attempt to establish the world’s first sustainable captive population of grunion — a lofty goal for California marine aquariums. A half-dozen researchers and volunteers in white lab coats and cutoffs waded into the surf with plastic buckets, collecting as many as possible, then gently coaxing eggs and sperm into specimen vials before setting them free.

You can read more about the grunion run, as well as view of video of the bizarre fish orgy, courtesy of the Los Angeles Times, by clicking here.

April 15, 2008 · Filed Under Oceans and Beaches (all), Other Oceans & Beaches Stories

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