If you’ve met Professor of Biology Karen Martin, chances are that she’s told you about the grunion. And if you’ve seen the grunion, chances are you understand why.
The grunion is a fish native to Southern California, a phenomenon only enjoyed in our corner of the world. It might sound crazy for a fish to beach itself, but these fish are born to do just that. At high tide they can be found scattered across the coastline mating. There, in the sand, these fish out of water lay their eggs. The young are carried back out into the ocean with the receding tide, and so goes the life of a grunion.
Martin has been following the grunion for years.
“It’s that whole fish out of water thing,” Martin said with a smile, when asked about her fascination with such a strange fish.
After studying the tadpole, another fish that has been known to leave the water from time to time, during her doctoral research at UCLA, Martin moved to Malibu and has become a leading voice in studying, protecting and enjoying the miracle of the grunion.
According to Martin, Southern California beach-goers and even beach cleaners are endangering the animal’s existence. Certain machines, such as ones that plow sand on the beach, are known to reduce the number of eggs that are able to hatch. And more than that, there is a grunion-hunting season during which beach-goers are legally allowed to catch the fish.
“There’s not really a good reason for people to be catching the grunion,” Martin said, when asked about such hunting policies.
Regarding the future of the grunion, Martin is optimistic.
“I hope [they do not become extinct]. I think we’ve got a lot of awareness now. We’ve worked with a lot of beaches, and now there are rules in place to protect the grunion.”
Martin hasn’t been working with beach maintenance crews alone. Many locals are volunteering to help protect these next-door neighbors. Humans need to know where the grunions have laid their eggs during their mating season so that we can be especially careful about protecting those areas of beach. Unfortunately, this can happen all along the coast, and we cannot know for sure where to expect it. So Martin and other scientists in her field have created a way for everyone to help. Volunteer crews are sent along the coast at night, on the look-out for new mating sites. “I’m always amazed at how many people love the grunion,” Martin said about the large number of people that volunteer. And should you or anyone else see grunions on the shore, you can go to grunion.org to report the sighting.
But raising awareness about the grunions’ near-endangerment hasn’t stopped here for Martin and her colleagues. They have created a short documentary that has shown at film festivals around the world. Michael Murrie, professor of journalism, was the director of photography on the film. The film has screened on Seaver campus before, and Martin would love for it to be shown again. She hopes that the video can be eventually shown in local aquariums.
National Geographic has even taken notice of Martin’s work. “It was great to work with them [on a TV spot about the grunion],” Martin said. “They’re very fun people, and they take the animals of the world very seriously.” The video is on video.nationalgeographic.com.
