Summertime is beach time in Southern California, even at night. Locals gather around bonfires, roast marshmallows and enjoy each other’s company. On some very special nights, there’s even sex — at least for the fish.
The grunion run happens only in the spring and summer months. Late at night, under the full and new moons, thousands of tiny, silvery fish swim to shore for a very peculiar mating ritual.
“The grunions are basically spawning tonight,” says Larry Fukuhara, the program director at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro. “The females are coming out,” he says. They’ll burrow backwards into the sand about 2 or 3 inches. Then the males will “wrap around” and fertilize the eggs, Fukuhara adds.
Read this story now for free
To continue reading, sign up for our newsletter and get unlimited access to WABE.org
You can select your preferences for news and local content. We will never share your email address. Learn how your newsletter sign-up will support WABE and Public Media
