Seasons in the Sea - A month-by-month guide to Central California sea life
Overview Winds, waves, and currents The open ocean Marine mammals Seabirds Kelp beds Rocky intertidal areas Sandy beaches Coastal estuaries
Overview Winds, waves, and currents The Open Ocean Marine Mammals Seabirds Kelp Beds Rocky intertidal areas Sandy Beaches Coastal estuaries
Overview Winds, waves, and currents The Open Ocean Marine Mammals Seabirds Kelp Beds Rocky intertidal areas Sandy Beaches Coastal estuaries
Overview Winds, waves, and currents The Open Ocean Marine Mammals Seabirds Kelp Beds Rocky intertidal areas Sandy Beaches Coastal estuaries
Overview Winds, waves, and currents The Open Ocean Marine Mammals Seabirds Kelp Beds Rocky intertidal areas Sandy Beaches Coastal estuaries
Overview Winds, waves, and currents The Open Ocean Marine Mammals Seabirds Kelp Beds Rocky intertidal areas Sandy Beaches Coastal estuaries
Overview Winds, waves, and currents The Open Ocean Marine Mammals Seabirds Kelp Beds Rocky intertidal areas Sandy Beaches Coastal estuaries
Overview Winds, waves, and currents The Open Ocean Marine Mammals Seabirds Kelp Beds Rocky intertidal areas Sandy Beaches Coastal estuaries
Overview Winds, waves, and currents The Open Ocean Marine Mammals Seabirds Kelp Beds Rocky intertidal areas Sandy Beaches Coastal estuaries
Overview Winds, waves, and currents The Open Ocean Marine Mammals Seabirds Kelp Beds Rocky intertidal areas Sandy Beaches Coastal estuaries
Marine Mammals Birds Fishes / Sharks Crustaceans Mollusks Echinoderms Algae / Plants
References
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Seasonal activities of selected
fishes, sharks, and rays on the Central California Coast

Jump to:        Fishes             Sharks and rays

Key to table shading:
Mating Eggs hatching/Releasing larvae Planktonic stage Settling

Fishes - yearly timelines

Jan/Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov/Dec
California sardine  (Sardinops sagax))
Begin peak
spawning		 Adults
from S.Cal		 Migrate
northward		 Migrate
northward		 End peak
spawning		 Migrate
southward
North Pacific Hake  (Merluccius productus))
Spawn in
deep water		 Spawning Migrate
northward		 Migrate
northward		 Migrate
southward
California Anchovy  (Engraulis mordax) [Ocean spawning]
Early
spawning		 Early
spawning		 Spawning
migrate N		 Arrive
MBay		 Migrate
northward
California Anchovy  (Engraulis mordax) [Estuary spawning]
Congregate
off estuaries		 Congregate
off estuaries		 Enter
estuaries		 Peak young
in estuaries
Vermillion rockfish  (Sebastes miniatus)
Larvae
in plankton		 Larvae
settle		 Mating Larvae
released
Blue rockfish  (Sebastes mystinus)
Larvae
released		 In plankton Juveniles
to kelp		 Juveniles
to kelp		 Mating
Lingcod  (Ophiodon elongatus)
Eggs
hatch		 Larvae
in plankton		 Juveniles
in plankton		 Juveniles
toward shore		 Juveniles
to kelp beds		 Nest-building,
egg-laying		 Nesting in
tidepools
Cabezon  (Scorpaenichthys marmoratus)
Brooding,
hatching		 Eggs
hatch		 Larvae in
plankton		 Juveniles
at sea		 Juveniles
to kelp beds		 Juveniles
to kelp beds		 Mating,
nest-building		 Nesting in
tidepools
China rockfish
(Sebastes nebulosus)		 Canary rockfish
(Sebastes pinniger)		 Chilipepper
(Sebastes goodei)		 ("Winter-spawning" rockfish)
Larvae
released		 Larvae
released		 Juveniles
in plankton		 Settle
to seafloor		 Settle
to seafloor		 Mating Mating
Olive rockfish
(Sebastes serranoides)		 Yellowtail rockfish
(Sebastes flavidus)		 Black rockfish
(Sebastes melanops)
Larvae
released		 Larvae
released		 Larvae
in plankton		 Juveniles
to kelp
Gopher rockfish
(Sebastes carnatus)		 Black and yellow rockfish
(Sebastes chrysomelas)		 Kelp rockfish
(Sebastes atrovirens)		 ("Spring-spawning" rockfish)
Mating Larvae
released		 Peak
spawning		 Larvae
in plankton		 Juveniles to
kelp canopy		 Juveniles
to bottom		 Migrate
offshore
 
Jan/Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov/Dec

 

 

Sharks and rays - yearly timelines

Jan/Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov/Dec
White shark   (Carcharodon carcharias)
Females
leave		 Congregate
offshore		 Early arrivals Hunt
near shore		 Hunt
near shore		 Congregate
at rookeries		 Males
leave
Leopard shark   (Triakis semifasciata)
Young born
in estuaries		 Adults leave
estuaries		 Juveniles
in estuaries		 Peak juveniles
in estuaries		 Adults
to estuaries
Bat ray   (Myliobatis californica)
Adults to
estuaries		 Adults to
estuaries		 Young
born		 Mating Adults leave
estuaries		 Adults leave
estuaries
 
Jan/Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov/Dec
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