4 Kelp bass
Paralabrax clathratus
Distinguishing characteristics. The kelp, sand, and spotted basses can be separated from other California basses by having more dorsal rays (13-15) than spines (10) and seven or eight anal soft rays. The kelp bass is easily distinguished from the sand and spotted bass by its color and the lengths of the third fourth, and fifth dorsal spines. In the sand and spotted bass the third dorsal spine is the longest, whereas in the kelp bass the third, fourth, and fifth spines are of nearly equal length. Neither of the other two species has white blotches on the sides as does the kelp bass.
Distribution. Kelp bass are taken all the way from Trinidad Pier to just below Abreojos Point, Baja California. They are not abundant north of Point Conception, but are usually a dominant species in the kelp beds throughout the remainder of their known range. They are seldom caught or observed at any great distance from a kelp bed. Some of the kelp beds where bass are plentiful do not show at the surface of the water.
Life history notes. Although kelp bass have been reported as weighing 17 pounds or more, the maximum authenticated weight is 14.5 pounds. A 27-inch kelp bass taken off the Newport Beach on October 7, 1960, weighed 14 pounds 5 ounces and appeared to be 31 years old. In captivity, kelp bass have been known to live as long as 12 years. By the time they are 10 inches long and five years of age, nearly all are mature and capable of spawning. The spawning season usually extends from May through August with a peak during July. As with most members of the bass family, growth is slow and a nine-year-old fish is only about 16.5 inches long. Kelp bass are not hermaphrodites; their sexes are separate.
Tagging studies conducted by the Department of Fish and Game indicate that the kelp bass is a stay-at-home. Although 600 tagged fish (out of 5800) were recovered over the years, only eight had traveled 20 or more miles. One of these eight was recaptured 282 miles south of the spot where it was tagged, however.
An examination of stomach contents indicates that small shrimp-like crustaceans are very important in the diet of kelp bass of all ages. However, with increase in size there is a corresponding increase in the amount of fish eaten. Most of the fish observed were anchovies, small perch, and such.
Kelp bass earbones are occasionally found in Indian kitchen middens that were deposited along our coast from 200 or 300 to several thousand years ago.
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California barracuda
Distinguishing characteristics. The California barracuda is the only member of the barracuda family known to inhabit the waters of our coast. Three smaller species are found in temperate and tropical waters south of California and about 22 kinds of barracudas are known from all the oceans of the world.
Distribution. California barracuda have been caught at various times all the way from Alaska south to Magdalena Bay, Baja California. During recent years they have seldom been taken or observed any great distance north of Point Conception. They are a schooling species and appear to prefer hanging out around islands and relatively close to shore along the mainland.
Life history notes. Even though the California barracuda is the largest of four species found along the Pacific coasts of North and South America, it nowhere near approaches the size of some of the monstrous barracuda of the tropical Atlantic and mid-Pacific. Some of these attain weights in excess of 100 pounds, whereas the record for our local "barry" appears to be an 18-pound 3-ounces fish caught in June, 1963. Females apparently grow bigger than males and almost all heavier than 10 pounds are females.
The oldest fish encountered in a study that was made a number years ago was 11. This fish was about 41 inches long. A six-year-old female, aged by means of its scales, was nearly 37 inches long and weighed just over seven pounds. The ovaries of the six-year-old weighed three-quarters of a pound and were estimated to contain 484,000 mature eggs. Just spawned eggs are 1.2 to 1.6 millimeters in diameter. About 75% of the California barracuda will spawn when they are two years old. The spawning season in Southern California may extend from April through September, but most spawning takes place in May, June, and July. A single female probably spawns more than once each season. Young barracuda up to six inches in length are usually found in shallow water close to shore.
Barracuda are quite voracious and in our waters they feed primarily upon anchovies and other small pelagic fishes. Barracuda are preyed upon by sea lions, dolphins, and a few large species of fish.
Earbones of California barracuda have been found in Pliocene deposits near San Diego that are estimated to have been laid down between 12 and 20 million years ago.