Grunion Run in Penasco

[El Feo]

The beach at Las Conchas was coverd for as far as the eye could see with squirming, wiggling, flipping fish this week. The females (grunia ??!! :lol: :lol: ) worked their way up the beach and burrowed into the sand tail first to lay eggs. Eye witnesses swore that one would burrow in but three would pop out. One wag thought the males were already present lurking in the sand and popped up with orgasim . Another observation was that although it was daylight, 6 PM or so, the sea birds did not bother the fish at all. You'd think they would have a feast. Supposedly there is a date identified for next year's run, by the biologists I guess. We're planning a Grunion party :fish: :fish: :fish:

Most people I've talked to, some old timers too, were unaware that the grunior ran in Penasco. Maybe it's a result of Global Warming, or Swine Flue, Or Narcotrafficantes :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Stuart]

You let all that good bait go to waste? I'm bringing a front loader next year! :lol:

 

[El Feo]

You only need a rake and a bucket

 

[PitiquitoRosy]

Grunion? In Penasco? Does anyone have pictures?

 

[PitiquitoRosy]

Don't grunion run at night?

 

[Kenny]

I saw a video of what was called a Grunion run down at El Gulfo, and it was in the daytime as well. Now I've seen, and caught Grunion many times on the Pacific side, the cliffs at Huntington Beach, and these fish looked and acted different than those Grunion.
Ugly, did you actually see them borrow tail first into the sand, and how do they get out and back into the water? On the Pacific side they go in and out with the waves, and always at night. One thing was the same though, a full moon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1biSSrc6qVA ..You will find the El Gulfo run in the middle of this page.


Maybe Hooch scared :twisted: them back in, he sure scared me. :lol:

 

[El Feo]

Ugly, did you actually see them borrow tail first into the sand, and how do they get out and back into the water? On the Pacific side they go in and out with the waves, and always at night. One thing was the same though, a full moon.

I did not personally view the event, unfortunately, but it was described to me by 3 different people. Daylight, about 6 or so when they were viewed. The grunia were described as beaching themselves, then flipping and wiggling up the beach a bit, then working the sand with their tail until they were partially buried in the sand, head up and exposed. After a bit the Grunia popped up, then one or two Grunio followed. There ensued more flipping and writhing back to the sea. The beach was described as alive with flipping and writhing, as far as one could see. A careful inspection of the beach revealed no condoms, so it was not just a sex party apparently. This all occurred about one week prior to today, the full moon, I think. I have inquired about photos.

Don't you think it odd that the sea birds were not feasting?

 

[Kenny]

Yes I do.. I just found this, it was in San Felipe.

On Saturday afternoon (3/18/06) we had one of our remarkable Grunion runs. The bay beaches, between the harbor and Punta Estrella are one of the best places to observe this amazing phenomenon. Around an hour after the afternoon high tide, schools of these little six inch long silvery fish beach themselves on the soft sand and wait for females to ambush. The female, bloated with eggs, rears up on her tail and digs a hole in the sand until she is about half buried. Males flock round and wrap themselves around the female to squeeze out her eggs and fertilize them at the same time. The wonderful thing is that here on the west coast of the Sea of Cortez this mating ritual occurs in broad daylight. On the Pacific coast this is a phenomenon that occurs in the middle of the night so very few people see it. Seagulls stand by to seize any fish that are slow getting back into the water. The buried eggs remain a couple of inches below the surface to incubate in the warm sand until the next set of high tides come two weeks later. The hatchlings then emerge into the surf and begin their life in the sea.

The unfortunate part of the event is that the droves of quads that run up and down the beaches take pleasure in trying to run over the grunion and drive them away from the mating grounds. Later on, the quads tear up the sand in the band where the eggs were laid and scatter them to the elements. It is difficult to measure the environmental damage that is done by these uncaring or unsuspecting vehicle drivers but over the past fifteen years I have noticed that the length of the beach that turns silver from the bodies of the mating fish has shrunk from around a mile in length to around 100 yards now.

The Grunion have little value as a fish to eat, though it is considered fair game to scoop up handfuls and deep fry them in hot oil. They are mostly spiny bone and not at all tasty.

For more details on grunion, visit http://www.grunion.org

 

[Kenny]

Found this as well, "There is also a related species in the Gulf of California, the false grunion (Colpichthys regis) that looks very similar and acts similar, but does not have the same breeding method. However, you may see a false grunion on the sand".

So what we have here is a "false grunion"..

 

[El Feo]

Interesting. I especially like the part about the male squeezing the female. Maybe that's the origin of abrazos ???

 

[cactusamigo]

It's weird to see them standing on their tails, burrowing into the sand. Have seen many Mexican locals running along the beach, filling plastic buckets. I have filled buckets the following day with dead ones to fertilize my garden. Your timing has to be perfect to catch live ones, perfect for frying or grilling, like large sardines.