Overfishing affects many fish species in California. Fisheries yield 70 million tons of fish per year. However, only 20 species — including the sheephead — constitute 50 percent of that 70 million.
Cal State Long Beach professor Chris Lowe and associate professor Kelly Young spoke on Feb. 17 at the Pyramid Annex to discuss data collected on the sheephead species between the summers of 2007 and 2008 in Channel Islands, Calif.
“[Fishing] is a part of our culture now,” Lowe said. “You can’t ask them to stop.”
CSULB biology professors and students are researching the reproductive biology of the Southern California sheephead fish population in order to help the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) maintain a sustainable fishery, or a population of fish being caught.
There are commercial fisheries and recreational fisheries. Commercial fisheries target females because they are “plate size,” and sport fisheries target large males.
“They’re one of the largest fish along the coast. It’s an obvious target,” said biology graduate student Bonnie Rogers. “Spearfishing is a big problem.”
Biological sciences department chair Brian Livingston introduced the two professors and emphasized the importance of collaboration in science today.
“Chris works with fish. He is generally in the water, on the water or someway or another submersed in water,” he said. “Kelly works with fuzzy things. She is a laboratory person.”
The government has managed fisheries for more than 200 years. The DFG has set size regulations to keep the sheephead ecosystem in balance. Size limits allow at least one season to spawn; if the fish is too small, fishers must catch and release them.
Lowe was formal in his presentation of his research. He answered the question, “What are the impacts of catch and release on sheephead?” by analyzing their behavioral and physiological stress levels.
Young’s main goal was to find a quick test that could identify whether sheephead were male, female or in the transitional phase. Understanding their sex is important to keep the fish procreating. Unfortunately, they only found a partial answer: Females have estrogen, whereas transitional and male sheephead do not.
All sheephead fish are born female. The dominant female of the group will turn into a male when the previous male dies.
“I know it’s early, but yes, I just said ‘hermaphrodite,'” Young said, jokingly.
Biology graduate student Kerri Loke is researching the sheephead as her thesis project. She has been a major researcher in finding “what’s affecting the fish population by looking at the reproductive differences in California Sheephead.”
Loke attempted to find out the sex of a sheephead at Lowe’s temporary aquarium in the PH2 building by using an ultrasound.
“We’re still researching,” Loke said. “There are so many factors.”
In Young’s closing statements she told the audience what they could do as consumers.
She said people should eat fish caught on the Western coast since DFG has the best fishing policies compared to any area.
She said people should eat a variety of fish, keep a balanced diet to keep a balanced ecosystem and buy in season.
The College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics will have another research symposium March 5 at 12:30 p.m. at the University Student Union Ballrooms.