5th Grade Field Trip - Cabrilla Aquarium Grunion Run San Pedro - May 22, 2012

Spend a night sitting on Southern California's sandy shore waiting for the “grunion run.” Grunion are small sardine-size fish of the silversides family, which are among the few species of fish that actually come ashore to lay their eggs on sandy beaches. They are found from Southern California south to Baja California and arrive at night after the high tide around the new moon and full moon. Cabrillo Beach is one of the better places to observe the fish.
	At times the beach may look as if it is covered in a blanket of silver as the wriggling fish arrive to mate.  The females burrow into the sand to lay eggs while the males wrap around them in order to fertilize the eggs.  Then both males and females catch the next wave back out to sea.  The fertilized eggs incubate for about nine days in the sand before the tumbling action of the waves from the next series of high tides cause them to hatch as they are carried back out to sea. To learn more about these fascinating creatures: Grunion.org California Dept. of Fish and Game