SeaWorld, state Fish and Game Dept. partner with local school

Just before summer vacation, a group of La Jolla High School science students freed Nemo, Nemo and more Nemos — 15 fish in all — into Mission Bay. It was graduating senior Daniela De Kervor who dubbed the juvenile fish, which were part of a local stock-enhancement program aimed at increasing the once-dwindling California white sea bass population. In the first school project of its kind in San Diego, the students from Dave James’ biology class, together with the school’s Marine Science Club and the National Ocean Sciences Bowl, raised the fish until they were 260 days old and ready for release. Not afraid of mixing movie metaphors, De Kervor said she felt like the lead in “Free Willy” when she helped upend the cooler of 10-inch cultured bass in Mission Bay and the students bid them farewell. “They’re ready now for the real world,” said senior Moe Porter, who’s off to Northeastern University in the fall to study architecture. In partnership with the Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute, the California Department of Fish and Game and Get Inspired, Seabass in the Classroom encompasses lab activities, field research, data collection and analysis. Part of the Institute’s Ocean Resources Enhancement and Hatchery Program, the classroom project helps students understand where food comes from and the sustainability of a natural resource, according to Karen Terra, director of development. The project began in December with 25 fish. Two went to the Department of Fish and Game for health inspections and one to SeaWorld. Seven “committed suicide,” according to De Kervor, who’s headed to Lewis & Clark College in the fall for pre-med. The “jumpers” defied James’ efforts to secure the 150-gallon aquarium, paid for by a grant from the MacCleod Educational Trust. Even so, he plans to continue the program next year. The Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute’s white sea bass program began in the early 1980s. From the 1950s to the 1980s, annual party-boat catches in California had dropped from more than 55,000 to less than 1,000, according to Hubbs-SeaWorld research scientist Mike Shane. The commercial fishery industry reflected a similar downward trend. Since 1986, when the institute released its first batch of white sea bass, it has released more than 1.8 million. “We hope to go over 2 million this year,” Shane said. Partly as a result of its enhancement program, party-boat catches of white sea bass during the last decade are back to where they were in the early 1960s — about 5,000 a year, Shane said. The commercial fishery industry seems to be pulling in even more. Keepers must be at least 28 inches. The average lifespan of a white sea bass is 10 to 15 years, with a weight of about 60 pounds, according to Shane. The biggest on record lived 24 years and weighed 93.5 pounds. One of the students’ favorite parts of the experience was tagging the fish behind the eyes. “We got to knock them out,” Porter said enthusiastically. The institute has asked fishermen to cut off the heads of their white sea bass catches and return them for analysis. Shane said some of the bass have been caught after as many as 13 years after release, and as far away as Monterey. White sea bass are local to California waters, and many menus list them simply as “sea bass.” Other types of bass often are incorrectly named on menus as well. For instance, black sea bass is really giant sea bass, according to Shane. And Chilean sea bass is not from Chile, but rather the Antarctic; and it’s not really bass, but Patagonian toothfish. Shane said the next couple of months are the best chance to get white sea bass in local stores and restaurants. Even so, De Kervor said, “I want (our fish) to live long and productive lives … I hope one doesn’t end up on my table.”