A grunion-esque backup plan
What if the grunion stopped running? Scientists prefer to never know, so they've launched an ambitious program to breed in captivity a backup population of the tiny silver fish. First step: head to the beach to catch them in flagrante. Louis Sagahan was there:
Suddenly, the surf shimmered with flashes of silver and a few small, slender fish wriggled on shore, as if to size up the situation. Then thousands of fish began riding in on the swells and piling up on the beach in writhing clots. "Grunion!" she said. "Turn on your flashlights, everybody!"
About 400 onlookers dashed to the shore to witness the reproductive mayhem of Leuresthes tenuis, the iconic Southern California fish that leaves its briny realm to mate on the sand.
Louis Sahagan has a real fish story.
--Veronique de Turenne
Photo: Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times
