Hubbs Sea World Research Institute

Programs: Sustainable seafood conducted scientific research on 20 sustainable seafood projects, feeding a hungry world and restoring depleted fish populations. Aquaculture is a practical solution to renewing regional fish stocks, producing domestic supplies of sustainable seafood, and reducing the need for fresh water to produce terrestrial animal protein as a food source. Several milestones were reached this year in hswris efforts to develop a replenishment program for california halibut. We established two new breeding populations from the san diego area that will supply offspring to be released in local waters to rebuild depleted halibut stocks. As part this process hswri added four new breeding pools, including one that has state-of-the-art recirculating components for environmental control and improved biosecurity. Additionally, hswri developed a written plan for releasing cultured halibut that are tagged and then assessing their survivorship and movement patterns in the wild, following procedures used in our long-running white seabass replenishment program. This plan was submitted to the department of fish and wildlife for review as part of the authorization process for future releases of hswri-reared california halibut. Working with colleagues from mexico, we have developed methods to distinguish hatchery-reared white seabass from wild seabass using the chemistry of the ear bones. These findings open the door for us to study long term marking efficiencies of coded wire tags that have been implanted into cultured seabass since 1990. This past year hswri recovered the oldest hatchery-reared white seabass in history, caught by a kayak fisherman off torrance in los angeles. This white seabass was released along the southern california coastline by boat from the dana point growout site and had been at liberty over 20 years. The fish was 54 in length and weighed 48 pounds. In collaboration with rising tide conservation (rtc), hswris ornamental fish program successfully spawned and reared flame angelfish to an age of 11 days old. To facilitate this we established facilities and protocols to rear copepods and live algae to feed larval fish. The goal of rtc is to provide a domestic supply of cultured ornamental fish to hobbyists and oceanaria, thereby reducing the impacts of wild fish collection on fish populations and the coral reefs where they live.

wildlife populations conducted scientific research on 14 projects on wildlife population ecology, examining the interconnectedness of marine life and habitats. Our research focuses on wild marine animal populations, seeking to predict and prevent impacts from human disturbance, habitat loss and pollution, and climate change. Hubbs-seaworld research institutes antarctic fieldwork on penguins included two trips to the falkland islands and south georgia island and three trips to the antarctic peninsula in 2017-18. Hundreds of hours of video and audio recordings of king, gentoo and chinstrap penguins and their habitats were collected using a small remote-controlled tele-robot (i. E. , drone) and a hand-held digital video camera. The video recordings and hundreds of still photographs were analyzed in an ongoing multi-year study to document changes in habitat use with season and year in several important penguin colonies in the antarctic and subantarctic. Individual recognition analysis is being applied to penguin vocalizations and plumage patterns incorporating the results of controlled studies of penguins at ski dubai during the past several years. By following known individuals over time, scientists can test assumptions about the stability of penguin calls and feather patterns and use this to inform studies of wild penguins. The institutes whale shark research program expanded this past year with new funding that will build on previous studies of sharks in the indian, pacific and atlantic oceans. Although whale sharks are filter feeders, foraging on marine life near the sea surface, hswris tagging studies (over 230 satellite and archival tags deployed to date) revealed that the sharks spend most of their time at relatively great depths (occasionally exceeding 1000 m). They are at the surface only briefly when feeding, indicating that their primary habitats are much deeper (and colder) than previously thought. Future research will focus on identifying the location and habits of female whale sharks, which are rarely seen. Our scientists collaborated with seaworld parks in california and florida in the past year to provide vital information on the fate of rescued dolphins and on the fate and habitat requirements of threatened and endangered species, including guadalupe fur seals and sea turtles, through post-return tracking of rescued animals.

ocean health conducted scientific research on 10 projects on ocean health, promoting a healthier planet where humans and marine life thrive together. To advance ocean health we study ways to prevent disease transmission, promote ecosystem health and resilience, and provide rapid first response to marine life strandings. Hswri is one of the busiest marine mammal rescue organizations in the country. Our florida team responds to more than twice as many stranded marine mammals as any other florida organization or agency. Hswri scientists and trained volunteers responded to 45 stranded whales and dolphins in 2017. It was an unusually busy year for entangled dolphins, with eight cases of free-swimming animals becoming caught in gear or debris. Six of the dolphins were rescued successfully by hswri and its stranding network partners, one became entangled twice, and one is known to have died from entanglement. Four of the affected dolphins were calves, all of which were disentangled and immediately released to their mothers swimming nearby. To address this growing problem, hswri worked with noaa fisheries to install new educational placards at piers, docks, seawalls and boat ramps along the intracoastal waterway, urging the public to safely recycle fishing line and refrain from feeding wild dolphins. The indian river lagoon, florida, has been classified as an estuary of national significance but unfortunately has received notoriety in recent years as an impacted waterway, with repeated algal blooms, fish kills and die-offs of aquatic mammals. River otters are important indicator species for aquatic ecosystem health, but little is known about them in the irl. Hswris "otter spotter" program, begun in 2016, is growing in the central east florida area with new volunteers added every month and sightings increasing (17 reported sightings in 2016, 92 in 2017). Trained spotters report their sightings of live river otters through an on-line system; these data are used to identify otter "hot spots" which will then be targeted for more research. Otters killed by vehicles are spotted by volunteers and reported to the staff at hswri and then collected for a full examination, including collecting samples to be tested for aquatic toxins and zoonotic diseases.