Rescued Northern Tidewater Gobies Return to their Home in the Santa Monica Mountains
The fish, which were rescued after the Palisades Fire, play an important role in the local ecosystem
Northern tidewater goby Credit: Robin Riggs
June 18, 2025
June 18, 2025, Long Beach, California—After five months of receiving care at the Aquarium of the Pacific and Heal the Bay Aquarium, a group of rescued northern tidewater gobies has returned to the wild in the Santa Monica Mountains.
Biologists rescued the tidewater gobies in January 2025 from one of their few remaining natural habitats in the Topanga Canyon Lagoon after the Palisades Fire consumed their habitat. This effort was a collaborative endeavor involving California State University, Channel Islands (CSUCI), the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains (RCDSMM), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey and California State Parks. The two aquariums each took in these fish to temporarily house them as runoff from the fire had heavily impacted their habitat in the wild.
Stacy Hammond, Aquarium of the Pacific, moves the northern tidewater gobies with a small net into buckets to prep for the release into Topanga Lagoon. Credit: Robin Riggs
The ecological role tidewater gobies serve in their environment is similar to that of a keystone species. Their presence or absence can signal the health of the entire system, including coastal food webs and lagoon habitats. They help regulate the invertebrate population, including mosquito larvae, while serving as prey for native birds and large fish. Tidewater gobies live in small groups spread across many lagoons along the coast. These groups are semi-connected, so if one lagoon becomes unsuitable—such as when debris, ash, and sediment wash in after a wildfire—gobies from nearby lagoons can move in and recolonize once conditions improve. Since there were limited sites nearby for natural recolonization near Topanga Canyon after the Palisades Fire, biologists stepped in to help relocate and reintroduce gobies to support the recovery of local populations.
From left to right, Stacy Hammond from the Aquarium of the Pacific releases northern tidewater gobies into the Topanga Lagoon while Brenton Spies from California State University, Channel Islands watches as others from the university release fish at the same time. Credit: Robin Riggs
Although the Topanga Lagoon habitat has been significantly impacted by sedimentation from the fire, sufficient habitat is now available, allowing these hardy fish to be safely returned to their natural habitat. Their return to Topanga Lagoon is significant because it supported the healthiest and most consistently abundant northern tidewater goby population in Los Angeles County until the Palisades Fire broke out. Not only is their return important for their local recovery, but their genetic traits may also be preserved so they can adapt to warmer, more variable conditions. Monitoring to ensure their survival will continue led by the RCDSMM and CSUCI students and faculty.
Saving these important fish was made possible through a collaboration with Aquarium of the Pacific; California State Parks; California State University, Channel Islands; the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors; Los Angeles County Lifeguards; Heal the Bay Aquarium; Santa Monica College; the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains; and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Emergency funding provided by USC Sea Grant and Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsay Horvath, as well as donations of over $43,000 from fifty contributors, supported this effort. Additionally, the Aquarium of the Pacific’s Marine Conservation Research Institute provided funding to assist with the care of these gobies.
If you would like to learn more about the rescue of the northern tidewater gobies, the Aquarium of the Pacific’s First Wednesdays on July 2 will focus on this topic. Please visit the event page to learn more about the panel and purchase tickets.
