Giant sea bass

How it lives

Giant sea bass grow slowly. A fish reaches about 30 lb at 6 years and about 100 lb at 10 years, and they mature at about 11 to 13 years (UC Santa Barbara). Scientists have shown they live at least 50 years and some over 70, with the oldest reported around 75 years. They live over rocky reefs, ledges, sand and kelp, often at depths of about 10 to 40 m (35 to 130 ft), with adults usually deeper than about 20 m. In summer, they gather to spawn, and a female can release up to 60 million eggs (Monterey Bay Aquarium).

Where it goes

In a 2023 acoustic tagging study in La Jolla, California, two of five tagged fish stayed in the study area for 2.4 and 3.9 years, while three left after 6 to 9 months, one to a site about 8 km north. Movement was higher in the spawning season (May to October) and in daylight. Fish return to the same spawning sites year after year. Known aggregation sites include Little Harbor and The V's near Santa Catalina Island, plus areas near La Jolla and Anacapa Island.

We only draw a journey on the map when scientists have tracked it or clearly documented it. For this animal we have not found one yet.

Populations

IUCN rates it Critically Endangered. Wikipedia, Monterey Bay Aquarium and UC Santa Barbara all say it has been listed since 1996, while FishBase dates its record to 2004. Between 1932 and 1980, populations fell by roughly 95 to 98 percent (UC Santa Barbara). California banned commercial fishing in the early 1980s and added a gillnet ban in 1994, and Marine Protected Areas now cover some spawning sites. Wikipedia gives an estimate of about 500 individuals in California in 2018, and Monterey Bay Aquarium says breeding females may total only several hundred. Whether the species is recovering remains uncertain. More than half of the range is in Mexican waters, where incidental catch is still allowed (one fish per trip).