First Grunion Run Of Year Expected This Week On Redondo Beach Shores

REDONDO BEACH, CA — Grunion, the small, silvery fish that emerge from the water to dig in the sand and lay eggs, are spawning along the Southern California coast this week, including in Redondo Beach.

The fish are running for two hours each night from Wednesday through Saturday, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The fish, which measure six to eight inches in length, are found only in Southern California and northern Baja California. They're the only fish known to come out of the water to dig into beach sands and lay their eggs during mating season.

They ride the tides around new and full moons, with the female grunion laying about 3,000 eggs at once in the wet sand, and 18,000 in a mating season.

The male grunion then rides the tide to the eggs and fertilizes them before riding the tides back into the ocean several minutes later. This entire phenomenon is known as a grunion run.

The grunion mating season starts in the spring and ends in the summer. There are good places to see them make their run for the last few times until mating season begins again, including the Santa Monica Beach and pier area, according to CDFW.

The expected grunion runs for this spring are:

• Wed., March 18: 10 p.m. - Midnight
• Thurs., March 19: 10:25 p.m. - 12:25 a.m.
• Fri., March 20: 10:55 p.m. -12:55 a.m.
• Sat., March 21: 11:30 p.m. - 1:30 a.m.

Among the places in Los Angeles County where they're expected to appear are:

• Malibu Cove
• Santa Monica Beach and Pier area
• Redondo & Torrance Beach
• San Pedro area beaches
• Cherry Beach in Long Beach

Other Southern California locations include:

• Surfer's Knoll (Ventura County)
• Seal Beach (Orange County)
• Huntington State Beach / Huntington Pier (Orange County)
• Newport Beach / Balboa Peninsula (Orange County)
• Capistrano State Beach / Doheney Beach (Orange County)
• Carlsbad State Beach / Tamarack (San Diego County)
• Cardiff-by-the-Sea Beach / San Elijo (San Diego)
• Coronado Ferry Landing Beach (San Diego)

"Typically, the second hour has more fish than the first hour, so be patient," CDFW said in a statement. "

CDFW said that it does not recommend specific beaches to watch the grunion because of ever-changing safety conditions and local curfews.