High hopes for the giant sea bass
A juvenile being raised in a Long Beach aquarium is a positive sign for the species.
Giant sea bass can live at least 70 years, grow 7 feet in length and weigh up to 560 pounds — that is, if they can avoid gill netters and spear-slinging poachers also prowling the kelp beds off California.
Very little is known about the biology and behavior of these docile behemoths, which were nearly wiped out by commercial fishing in the 1930s. The few that remained were prized catches for biggame anglers until the state in 1982 made it a misdemeanor to kill the fish.
Efforts to raise giant sea bass in captivity have been dismal failures. But conservationists have high hopes for a 1-inch-long juvenile giant that turned 59 days old Friday at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach.
It’s the first giant sea bass spawned and raised in a public aquarium from larva to juvenile, providing a valuable glimpse into the early life history of the species and an opportunity to develop protocols for successful captive breeding programs.
“I’m using cameras and notebooks to record its every move and growth spurt,” said Nicole Leier, 34, a senior aquarist whose duties include keeping the fish — about the size of a quarter — as comfortable as possible in a tank surrounded bywater heaters and filtration systems, pipes and valves.
“Eventually, we plan to exhibit him,” she said, “accompanied by signage explaining why he is so special, and the challenges facing wild populations.”
Historically, the fish were found from Humboldt Bay in Northern California to Baja California. The largest on record measured 7 ½ feet long and 563 pounds.
They congregate around the Channel Islands from April through October to spawn, and then they disappear each winter. No one knows where they go.
Leier’s delicate tenant spends most of its time bobbing like a yo-yo in a 15-gallon tank housed in a building off-limits to the public. The water is filtered and kept at a constant 65 degrees.
It began life among about 1,000 eggs spawned Oct. 1 by immense parents with pouty lips and downward mouths that have been on display at the aquarium since it opened in 1998. Those eggs produced eight larvae, only one of which survived.
“The aquarium has a very cool and valuable juvenile on their hands — and hope for the future of the species,” said Larry Allen, a professor of marine biology at Cal State Northridge and an expert on giant sea bass. “We have a lot to learn from it because the species was fished out of coastal waters before scientists had a chance to study their behavior and life cycles.”
The breeding population of giant sea bass in the wild is believed to be only about 500 to 1,000 individuals, Allen said.
It’s not all bad news. “Thirty years ago, there were no giant sea bass returning to spawn around Santa Catalina Island,” Allen said. “Our research shows that there are now about 40 to 50 of them ... each year. Most of them are under 20 years old, which suggests that they were hatched around the time that catching them was banned in California.”
Since spot patterns on individual giant sea bass are unique, researchers at UC Santa Barbara are asking recreational divers to send them photos of both the right and left sides of the big fish they encounter.
“The photos will used to identify individuals and monitor their behavior and movement,” said Milton Love, a research biologist at the university.
In the meantime, the aquarium’s juvenile giant is plump, curious and showing no signs of slowing down with age as it roams the tank feasting on shrimp.
“Watching this guy grow,” Leier said, “has been a real wow thing for me.”