Searching for Sand Bass

The saltwater basses comprise an extremely popular recreational fishery in Southern California. Barred sand bass are a prime target, and pursuit of their summer spawning aggregations is a popular pastime, particularly on chartered and private vessels out of urban ports in Los Angeles and San Diego. Recreational anglers also widely target the species from shore with rod and reel. Unfortunately, species that form spawning aggregations tend to be vulnerable to overfishing, which can lead to critically low population size. Despite more restrictive regulations implemented in 2013, barred sand bass aggregations disappeared for a 10-year period, and the population has only recently shown signs of incipient recovery. Uncertainty surrounding the full extent of barred sand bass movements presents significant challenges for effective fishery management. If long-distance migrations or population linkages between Southern California and Baja California exist, current management strategies— designed around local or regional stock assessments—may fail to account for broader population connectivity and risk another barred sand bass fishery collapse. Addressing these uncertainties is essential for developing spatially and temporally adaptive management measures that align with the species’ true dynamics.

USC Sea Grant is funding this project, which will use the new methodology of “natural tagging” approaches as powerful alternatives for reconstructing movement histories. Previous work has shown that these methods can reliably differentiate individuals originating from different regions. As part of the Marine Life Management Act, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is required to promote the sustainability and health of fisheries and to engage stakeholders in the management process. As part of this mandate, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is convening a barred sand bass advisory/working group composed of members of the commercial sportfishing and recreational fishing industry, research scientists, and non-governmental organizations. Among other outreach efforts, this project will engage with the barred sand bass working group to discuss the project, refine hypotheses, interpret outcomes, and identify next steps for research and management. Answering the question of whether barred sand bass conduct spawning migrations between Mexican and California waters, and engaging user groups early, has the potential to generate greater buy-in around management decision-making for the fishery.