California Fish Species

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Surf Smelt

  • Scientific Name
    Hypomesus pretiosus
  • Native
    Native Species
  • Identification

    Surf smelt. Location: Eureka Slough, Humboldt Bay, CA. Date: 2004. Photo by Mike Wallace, California Department of Fish and Game. Note: Scale in cm.
    Surf smelt. Location: Eureka Slough, Humboldt Bay, CA. Date: 2004. Photo by Mike Wallace, California Department of Fish and Game. Note: Scale in cm.

     

    • Small silvery fish, adipose fin present
    • Jaw teeth present, axillary process absent
    • Head more than 4 times as long as eye diameter, and less than 2.5 times as long as the longest anal fin ray
    • Lateral line scales: 53-60
    • Fin rays: anal 8
  • Life History

     

    Surf smelt are primarily a marine species that is occasionally found in estuaries. They are capable of surviving in water with a salinity as low as 4 ppt. Surf smelt provide an important commercial and sport fishery in California.

  • Links to Other Research
    N / A
  • Watershed
    • Alisal-Elkhorn Sloughs Watershed
    • Big-Navarro-Garcia Watershed
    • Bodega Bay Watershed
    • Carmel Watershed
    • Chetco Watershed
    • Gualala-Salmon Watershed
    • Lower Eel Watershed
    • Lower Klamath Watershed
    • Mad-Redwood Watershed
    • Mattole Watershed
    • Pajaro Watershed
    • Russian Watershed
    • Salinas Watershed
    • Salmon Watershed
    • San Francisco Bay Watershed
    • San Francisco Coastal South Watershed
    • San Lorenzo-Soquel Watershed
    • San Pablo Bay Watershed
    • Smith Watershed
    • Tomales-Drake Bays Watershed

Please note, watersheds are at the USGS 8-digit Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC) scale, so they often include a lot of sub-watersheds.  If a species occurs in any sub-watershed within the HUC, the species appears within the HUC.  Link to an EPA page that shows HUCs.