Click
here for
messages from Karen Martin, Ph.D. to Grunion Greeters throughout the
project!
Grunion Greeter Project
Project
Pacific, in partnership with the Birch Aquarium at Scripps (BAS),
recently completed a volunteer-based monitoring program along the four City of San Diego
beaches to observe grunion spawning activity from March-July, 2002.
In the 1940's, Dr. Boyd Walker of Scripps Institution of
Oceanography (SIO) "pioneered" grunion
research and discovered much of what we know about these fish. Project
Pacific, in partnership with the Birch Aquarium at Scripps and other SIO
and Pepperdine University scientists, have
continued his work with the help of Grunion Greeters.
Greeters provided spawning locations to
a team of scientists led by Dr. Karen Martin of Pepperdine
University conducting research on the impacts of beach raking.
Observations were gathered from the beaches of La Jolla, Pacific Beach, Mission
Beach, and Ocean Beach during the first two nights of grunion
runs, twice per month from
March through July 2002. The results of
the scientific study will ultimately influence City policy
concerning beach grooming. Also,
observations made by Grunion Greeters will be added to information
collected through other grunion programs in southern California (such as the Cabrillo
Aquarium) to address the status of grunion populations.
Interested
Grunion Greeters attended a workshop hosted by the Birch
Aquarium at Scripps (BAS) on February 27th and April
3rd. Greeters learned about the biology and behavior of the California
grunion, observation methods, and how to report observations to Project
Pacific via its website. Council member Scott Peters
gave the welcome at the workshops. In addition, Dr. Graham,
Executive Director of BAS, gave an incredible "behind the
scenes" tour of the aquarium at the conclusion of the
workshop.
A
special thanks to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF)
and NOAA who provided funding for the project through a "Challenge"
grant. Every dollar NFWF provided must be matched by $2
that Project Pacific raised through in-kind donations,
volunteer support, and other funds. In addition, a "Rapid
Response" Sea Grant
partially funded the research studies led by Dr. Martin.
  
A special thanks also to SAIC for a recent grant to
support the Grunion Greeter project! SAIC
employee Vicky Frank participated in
the project as a volunteer "Grunion Greeter".
Thank You Grunion Greeters!
Thanks
to the almost 200 Grunion Greeters who attended the
February 27
and April 3 workshops! The greeters collected
valuable information crucial for the research project as well as for an
overall understanding concerning the status of grunion
populations. A special thanks to the following for
participating in the project:
Birch
Aquarium at Scripps
Sea Camp
Volunteer Match
Qualcomm Cares
UC/San Diego
SAIC
San Diego State
University
Pfizer
University of San Diego
Massive
Collaboration
It
is important to note that this project represents an enormous
collaborative effort between Project Pacific, its grunion/beach
grooming "review panel", the City of San Diego
and its Park and Recreation Department, the Birch Aquarium,
Pepperdine University, numerous volunteer "Grunion
Greeters", and many, many other organizations and
agencies. We're making history in San Diego!
Photo
above (left to right): Dr. Karen Martin is helped by Park and Rec's
Steve, Ray, and Mike
as they look for grunion eggs at a site identified by the volunteer
"Grunion Greeters"!
Background
Due to concern
that beach grooming practices of Parks and Recreation are harming the
grunion eggs during spawning season, Council member Scott Peters and the City
of San Diego has asked Project Pacific to gather a
"panel" of experts and marine biologists to gather information and review Park
and Rec’s policies and procedures. The panel is in the process
of reviewing the current beach raking methods, examining existing studies and
designing necessary research, and considering the overall impact of beach grooming on the
beach environment. The issue was presented to the Natural Resources and Culture Committee
(sub-committee of the City Council) on April 3, 2002. The review panel includes
representatives from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC/Santa Barbara,
National Marine Fisheries Service, San Diego State University, CA Department of Fish &
Game, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Pepperdine University, University of San Diego,
and others. The panel will review the results of the spring/summer
research study and present suggested modifications to beach grooming
(if necessary) in early fall of 2002.
Click here to learn more about grunion.
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