The Ocean Institute is one of thirteen facilities on the California Coast that raises juvenile white seabass and releases them into the wild in partnership with Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute (HSWRI). This experimental hatchery program investigates the feasibility of using cultured marine finfish to enhance wild fish populations successfully. White Seabass are spawned and reared at a hatchery in Carlsbad, owned and operated by HSWRI. The hatchery provides juvenile white seabass, 4 inches in length, to 13 grow-out facilities operated by volunteers throughout southern California. The fish are held at the grow-out facilities, including the Ocean Institute, until they are ready for release, typically around 8 to 10 inches long. Each bass is outfitted with a tiny tag about the size of a broken piece of mechanical pencil lead! Anglers are encouraged to return their white seabass heads to a scanning site to have them checked for a tag! When analyzed under a microscope, these tags contain a tiny ID number that can tell scientists which batch of fish this came from, where it was raised (as there are several pens up and down the coast), when it was born, etc.

This program serves as a great proof of concept for other restoration models. White seabass is a prized local sportfishing species, and purchasing fishing licenses funds programs like this! Our involvement raises awareness for the public and anglers of programs like this (with the encouragement to return your white sea bass heads for tag checks!). It also involves the public in hands-on, accessible science in their community!

Our pen is primarily volunteer-run, assisted by the Ocean Institute husbandry staff and interns. The bass are fed twice daily based on weight and water temperature. As they grow or conditions change that may impact their metabolism, the hatchery constantly analyzes the data we send to determine if any changes need to be made to their care protocols! Our team and volunteers are responsible for key data collection about their health and growth. A bass sample is also weighed and measured monthly to determine overall growth metrics!

The first experimental release of more than 2,000 juvenile white seabass occurred in Mission Bay in October of 1986. Since then, the program has released over one million juvenile white seabass into embayments and near-shore coastal areas in Southern California. In October of 1995, the Leon Raymond Hubbard, Jr. Marine Fish Hatchery in Carlsbad, CA, became operational, producing more than 350,000 juvenile white seabass annually. Ocean Institute has been participating in the program since 2019.