Video: White Seabass Restoration Program Working In Carlsbad

The white seabass fishery was pushed to the brink of destruction by gill nets, over fishing and habitat destruction. Between 1950 and 1980, the annual sport catch of white seabass declined dramatically. The catch went from 55,000 to fewer than 3,500.

The California Department of Fish and Game instituted the Oceans Resources Enhancement & Hatchery Program (OREHP). As part of the state‘s new initiative, the Hubbs-Sea World Research Institute built an experimental marine fish hatchery in Carlsbad.

The white seabass was selected as the primary target species for this program due to both its popularity on the dinner table and its depleted status. The funding to support the majority of OREHP‘s stock enhancement research comes from the sale of recreational and commercial fishing licenses.

DFG only permits 350,000 fish to be released annually.  The facility could breed more than that, but the DFG permit doesn't allow for more than that to be bred out.  To maintain genetic diversity, no more than 15,000 fish are pulled from each breeding.  Females are broadcast breeders and do two to three egg releases per season.  Males follow the females when they release the eggs and in turn, release their sperm.  Research has shown that the fry come from a number of the participating males.  There is no selective breeding. 

There are 18 grow-out pens operated by private groups, mostly fishing clubs, that are located from San Diego to Santa Barbara.  The club volunteers obtain fish food for the fingerlings and do the pen maintenance.  The fish are put into the grow-out pens at 4-5" and grow until they reach 9-11" in length.  At this size, they have at least a 50% chance of survival. 

All fish raised and released are tagged in the cheek with coded metal wires. These tags can provide biologists with valuable information such as growth rates, migration routes, predation, mating and more.

This information can only be obtained if fishermen turn in legally caught white seabass heads. There are white seabass drop-off locations up and down the Southern California coast.