Hubbs-Seaworld Research Institute (HSWRI) delivered 14,000 cultured white seabass to the Catalina Seabass Fund grow-out facility in Catalina Harbor in Catalina Island Tuesday.
All of the fish were transported by boat Monday from Oceanside Harbor to the grow-out facility on Catalina Harbor.
The fish will be raised to a juvenile size of 8 to 10 inches before they are released to restore wild populations of seabass.
More than 5,600 white seabass were released on April 11 in Catalina Harbor after reaching their juvenile size.
HSWRI, the lead organization for the ocean resources Enhancement and Hatchery Program (OREHP) partnered with the Catalina Seabass Fund grow-out facility to spawn and grow the seabass.
Each fish has a coded wire tag inserted into its cheek before it is released to keep track of its growth and length of time it survives in the wild.
White seabass were severely overfished from the 1950s to 1980s, according to a press release by Hubbs-Seaworld Research Institute. Their numbers dropped from 55,000 to less than 3,500 in California.
