The Head Grunion Greeter

The grunion saga continues! Here is a picture of our illustrious grunion tour guide, Scripps Aquarium employee, and head grunion greeter herself, Caitlin with...you guessed it, a DEAD grunion! I was wondering if someone stepped on the poor thing, stumbling around in the dark trying not to scare off the spawning fish. As for Caitlin, she was very entertaining and as incredibly and contagiously enthused as the rest of us. She's currently applying to study at the Scripps institute and is hopelessly addicted to studying marine life.

Waiting for Grunion

Apparently the grunion send out "spotters," male grunion that swim up the beach and check for birds, people and other hazards. If the male "spotters" return unharmed, the spawning begins! Thus,the who batch of us Grunion Greeters (just for the night anyhow) are waiting in the dark or with little red lights so as not to scare the fish away. Once they get going, however, flashes, flashlights, etc. are fair game!