Check out the grunion running!

July 5th, 2008, 12:49 pm · Post a Comment · posted by Laylan Connelly, staff writer

The new moon is out and little fishies will be flopping around on the sand in the dark of night during a grunion run, where they’ll be spawning on the sand.

“This is the only species here that leaves the water to spawn,” said Jill Wilcox, a marine biologist who runs Science 2 U, a mobile marine science lab in Seal Beach. “It is so abnormal for a fish to leave water and spawn on land.”

During grunion nights, Wilcox collects eggs and incubates them for daytime classes on the sand. Two weeks later during a surf and science class held in conjunction with M & M Surfing School, she places them in sea water, shakes them up a bit, and the students can watch as they hatch.

The grunions come up to shore a day or two after the new moon, and run for four straight days. They run during the high tides so they can get their eggs far enough on the beach so they aren’t washed away, she said. When the next high tide comes along – and during the next run – they hatch and the fish go into the ocean.

Check out a video of the grunion running here.
“Everything about it is just odd, and that’s why it’s such a cool thing we have it, because it’s completely unique,” she said.
Grunion run anywhere there’s a sandy bottom. One of the prime spots is Doheny, where the beach has a nice flat bottom.

Grunion are edible. Some people recommend taking the scales off, then placing them in a pan with a little oil and lemon. The bones are soft, so you can eat the whole fish.

Also, fishing is fun during the runs because halibut love to eat grunion, so many people will shorefish during grunion runs to try and catch halibut.

But if you are going to catch them, make sure to get a fish license if you’re older than 16.

Wilcox warns to not scare off the “scout” grunions, the first fish on the sand sent out to see if everything is cool on shore. If the scouts don’t get back to the others, they won’t come up to the beach. So keep lights off them, until a lot of grunion show up on the sand.
“It’s really important that when there’s only a few fish on the ground, leave them alone,” she said. “Once the run is on, it’s on.”
For a full schedule of grunion runs, click here.