Soundings: the Newsletter of the Monterey Bay Chapter of the American Cetacean Society. 1982

(PDF contains 34 pages.)

Soundings: the Newsletter of the Monterey Bay Chapter of the American Cetacean Society. 1983

(PDF contains 112 pages.)

Soundings: the Newsletter of the Monterey Bay Chapter of the American Cetacean Society. 1984

(PDF contains 96 pages.)

Soundings: the Newsletter of the Monterey Bay Chapter of the American Cetacean Society. 1985

(PDF contains 84 pages.)

Soundings: the Newsletter of the Monterey Bay Chapter of the American Cetacean Society. 1986

(PDF contains 62 pages.)

Soundings: the Newsletter of the Monterey Bay Chapter of the American Cetacean Society. 1987

Missing November issue. (PDF contains 62 pages.)

Soundings: the Newsletter of the Monterey Bay Chapter of the American Cetacean Society. 1988

Missing July, August, October issues. (PDF contains 56 pages.)

Soundings: the Newsletter of the Monterey Bay Chapter of the American Cetacean Society. 1989

Missing June issue. (PDF contains 50 pages.)

Soundings: the Newsletter of the Monterey Bay Chapter of the American Cetacean Society. 1990

(PDF contains 118 pages.)

Soundings: the Newsletter of the Monterey Bay Chapter of the American Cetacean Society. 1991

(PDF contains 120 pages.)

Soundings: the Newsletter of the Monterey Bay Chapter of the American Cetacean Society. 1992

(PDF contains 116 pages.)

Soundings: the Newsletter of the Monterey Bay Chapter of the American Cetacean Society. 1993

(PDF contains 127 pages.)

Soundings: the Newsletter of the Monterey Bay Chapter of the American Cetacean Society. 1994

(PDF contains 92 pages.)

Soundings: the Newsletter of the Monterey Bay Chapter of the American Cetacean Society. 1995

(PDF contains 94 pages.)

Food habits of California Sea Lions (Zalophus californianus) and their impact on Salmonid Fisheries in Monterey Bay, California

In the ocean commercial troll and recreational salmon fishery in Monterey Bay California, California sea lions (Zalophus califomianus) will swim near or follow fishing boats and will depredate fish once hooked. The objectives of the study were to determine the percentage of salmon taken by pinnipeds in commercial and recreational fisheries, identify relative importance of prey items seasonally consumed by sea lions, and determine the proportion of salmonids in the sea lion diet on a seasonal basis. From April 1997 through September 1998, 1041 hours of onboard and dockside surveys of the commercial and recreational salmon fisheries were conducted at the three ports in Monterey Bay, California. Sea lions depreadated 7.9 % of the fish hooked in the commercial fishery in 1997 and 28.6 % in 1998,8.4 % (1997) and 18.3 % (1998) of the CPFV fishery, and 15.6 % (1997) and 17.5 % (1998) of the private skiff fishery. Increased depredation rates in both the commercial and recreational salmon fisheries in 1998 were most likely the result of the large EI Nino Southern Oscillation event that occurred in 1997-1998 during which a greater number of sea lions were present in central California. Prey hardparts identified in sea lion fecal samples collected in Monterey Bay indicated that schooling fishes were the predominant prey fish species, such as market squid (Loligo opalescens), Pacific sardine (Sardinops caeruleus), northern anchovy (Engraulis mordax), and rockfish (Sebastes sp.). Sea lions consumed similar prey species in the summer and fall 1997, winter 1997-98, and spring 1998 (PSI> 70.0) with market squid and northern anchovy being the dominant prey species. However, prey composition changed significantly during the summer 1998 and fall 1998 (PSI < 46.0) because of the increased importance of sardine and rockfish in the diet and the decreased importance of market squid. This report does not intend to imply that salmonids are not a prey species for pinnipeds in the Monterey Bay region, but highlights the difficulties encountered in establishing the role of salmonids in the pinniped diet when analyzing fecal samples. (PDF contains 38 pages).