Sturgeon in Suisun Bay and Plainfin Midshipmen in San Pablo Bay
Update on the activities of the IEP Trammel Net Survey and the Fall Midwater Trawl
IEP Trammel Net Survey
The Trammel Net Survey caught a 181 cm (~6 ft) White Sturgeon in Suisun Bay on October 4. According to the Von Bertalanffy growth curves for White Sturgeon in the Sacramento/San Joaquin, Columbia, and Fraser river basins (L.R. Hidebrand et al., 2016), this fish is more than 25 years old, making its birth year in the late 1990s.
Figure 1. CDFW Environmental Scientist, Dylan Stompe, holding a large white sturgeon that was captured October 4 in Suisun Bay. CDFW image.
Back in September (Sep. 21), the survey caught 25 white sturgeon, tagging 19 with $150 angler reward tags and recapturing 2 fish from 2020 and 2021.
Figure 2. CDFW Environmental Scientist, Dylan Stompe, holding two of the sturgeon captured on September 21 in Suisun Bay. CDFW image.
IEP Fall Midwater Trawl
For the Fall Midwater Trawl, they were out in San Francisco estuary on October 4. They caught 1,705 Plainfin Midshipman at station 307 in San Pablo Bay. This singing toadfish (a native of the bay) keeps residents of Richardson's Bay up all night during the breeding season. The fish makes a loud hum to attract mates.
Figure 3. Pile of Plainfin Midshipmen collected during the October 4 trawl at station 307 in San Pablo Bay. CDFW image.
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