FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 84, NO. 4 



(CMSC) on Santa Catalina Island (Fig. 1). Most 

 observations and collections were made in protected 

 cove areas having well-developed kelpbeds of the 

 giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera, and associated 

 plant habitats, including surfgrass, Phyllospadix tor- 

 reyi, and red and brown algae. Approximately 1,200 

 giant kelpfish were observed during the course of 

 the study. The aging and sexing study material from 

 Catalina was also supplemented by 42 specimens col- 



lected from subtidal sites off the southern Califor- 

 nia mainland, including Ventura, Lunada Bay on the 

 Palos Verdes Peninsula, Huntington Beach, and La 

 Jolla (Fig. 1). 



Kelpfish were collected using a 0.5 x 0.8 m net, 

 mounted on a 1 m long handle and constructed of 

 0.25 cm mesh dyed either brown or red to match 

 the kelpfish algal habitats (it was found that white 

 netting alarmed the fish, making them difficult to 



—i — 

 119° 



— T" 

 118° 



—l — 

 117° 



t 



N 



, Ventura 



34° 



-33' 



kfOceanside 



A COLLECTION SITES 



La Jolla 



.San 

 'Diego 



u 



20 



_i_ 



40 MILES 



" — i — i — i — i — i — r- 



20 40 60 KILOMETERS 



Figure 1.— Giant kelpfish collection sites (open triangles) off the southern California coast. 



810 



