Marine Science Lecture family night hosts ‘Rockfish: Scorpion Fish in Your Backyard’
Published 10:25 am Thursday, December 1, 2011
The Marine Science Lecture series will host rockfish expert Dave Smith speaking on “Rockfish: Scorpion Fish in Your Back Yard,” at its upcoming annual Famliy Night event.
“Although older female rockfish can give birth to up to 600,000 live young at a time, our local rockfish populations are threatened and three species are now listed on the U.S. Endangered Species List,” organizers say. “Come find out why these amazing fishes are in decline, and learn more amazing facts about rockfish from Dave Smith, a Senior Staff Biologist at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium. Enjoy a free dinner beforehand courtesy of YMCA Camp Orkila.”
The free lecture will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 14 at the YMCA Camp Orkila’s Larry Norman Lodge. Dinner begins at 5:30 p.m. and the lecture and kids’ activities start at 7 p.m.
There are about 26 species of rockfish in the Salish Sea. Some of these long-lived species can live to be over 100 years old. Members of the Scorpaenidae family, rockfish swimming in the rocky areas and kelp forests in our backyard all have a poisonous spine located on their dorsal fin and are related to the poisonous lionfishes sometimes kept in home saltwater aquariums.
About the Marine Science Lecture Series
The 2011/12 Marine Science Lecture Series is designed to inspire the general public and to highlight the amazing fish and wildlife of ourregion. Lectures are free. The series is presented by program partners The SeaDoc Society and YMCA Camp Orkila, and has been made possible through generous sponsorship by Tom Averna (Deer Harbor Charters), Barbara Brown, Denise and Dan Wilk (Eclipse Charters), Audrey and Dean Stupke and West Sound Marina.
For more information visit http://www.seadocsociety.org.
