Citizen Science on the Beach: Grunion Greeters in California

Abstract

Citizen scientist “Grunion Greeters” have proven to be effective monitors for beach-spawning runs of the California Grunion Leuresthes tenuis, for nearly two decades. This marine fish fully emerges from water to spawn on sandy beaches on the Pacific coast of California and Baja California. This spectacular display provides a rare nonconsumptive experience for the public with a wild fish. This native, endemic species rarely appears in trawls and does not take a hook, so population status is not possible to obtain by traditional fishery methods. In a unique recreational fishery, people capture these fish with bare hands on the sand, but no catch report is required. Volunteer Grunion Greeters provide hyperlocal, detailed data that can be obtained no other way. Methods, lessons learned, and use of the data in management are explained. The Grunion Greeters discovered that California Grunion recently made a northward range extension, but are declining broadly across the core habitat. Active monitoring by citizen scientists has brought renewed attention to this charismatic, vulnerable fish, along with its first long-term data set and policies to increase protections.