Catalina Island Leadership Program

Phoenix Country Day School

Kelp Forest Information Links

Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuaries

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Introduction
Splash! The anchor was in and I had arrived at Catalina Island. We had just anchored at Howland’s Landing and there was a slight breeze. After we arrived we put our bags down and went to the introduction at the diver desk. We found out what our cabins were and who we were with. We also found out who was in our CELP group. After that, and in the many days to follow, we did many activities. The activities included snorkeling in the bay and Emerald Bay. We also did hikes and kayaks. We completed ropes courses and watched the stars at night. What I did at Catalina was a once in a lifetime.

Research
The task my lab group had was to study six fish in depth, and that would be two each. In my lab group, I had two other partners to help me work on our question. The two fish that I was to study in depth were the Garibaldi fish and the harbor seal. The methods to study the fish that my lab group used were the Internet, marine books, ocean magazines and also snorkeling at Catalina. I collected my data by writing down notes on water-proof paper with a water-proof pen while snorkeling. The water-proof paper would wrinkle in the water, but when it dried it could be read easily.

Conclusions
It was time to answer the questions for my lab group’s task. After I studied the Garibaldi fish, I learnt that it lives where ever the ocean floor is such as a sandy bottom, a rocky bottom, or in the kelp forests. The Garibaldi lives on the Catalina coastline. It is California’s state fish. The mail is very protective of its nest. The Garibaldi can change its sex many times throughout its life. It eats small invertebrates on rocks. Its status of population is not threatened. At Catalina, I was not able to a harbor seal. The harbor seals lives in the north and south parts of the Pacific Ocean. It can be found in water and on sandy beaches. It is only threatened by humans for its skin. Seals eat damsel fish, schooling fish, octopus and squid. Seals spend nearly 85 percent of their day diving and sometimes dive at up to 150 mph. the only problem I had at Catalina was not being able to see a Harbor seal. The reason for this was because of El Nino driving away fish with the seal to follow. I hope I have completed my task as much as possible.