Featured Scientist

Alaina Conrad, a Scientific Aid in the California Recreational Fisheries Survey (CRFS) program holding a lingcod for weight and measurement caught off the coast of San Diego. The CRFS program collects data on angler activities, including fishing recreational sport fishing boats, man-made fishing structures (piers and jetties) and beaches and banks along the California coast. These data are then used to estimate total marine recreational finfish catch and effort in California.


Alaina Conrad, a Scientific Aid in the California Recreational Fisheries Survey (CRFS) program prepares to speak to anglers in the San Diego Area about their finfish catch. She and the other sci aids in the CRDF program interview anglers about their day of fishing, including where they fished, depth, targeted species and other information that is used to estimate marine recreational finfish catch in state waters.


Alaina Conrad, a Scientific Aid in the California Recreational Fisheries Survey (CRFS) program holds two Salps, a deep water organism, and rarely seen on the surface, that were caught in a fishing line on a sport fishing boat.

Alaina Conrad is a Fish and Wildlife Scientific Aid in CDFW’s Marine Region. Based in San Diego, she works on the California Recreational Fisheries Survey (CRFS). The CRFS is a coordinated sampling survey designed to gather catch and effort data from anglers in all modes of marine recreational finfish fishing. Alaina is one of about 70 CRFS samplers statewide. She collects data on angler activities, including recreational fishing boats, man-made fishing structures (piers and jetties) and beaches and banks along the California coast. These data are used to estimate total marine recreational finfish catch and effort in California.

Alaina earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Biology from Texas A&M University at Galveston. She was based at the university’s satellite campus in the Gulf of Mexico, which focuses on all things related to the ocean – from chemistry and biology to marine literature and maritime business. She has been with CDFW since June of 2017.

What inspired you to pursue a career in marine biology?

I grew up in Monterey and was fortunate to take a marine science class in my sophomore year of high school. My teacher inspired me to learn more about the ocean and what dwells within it. Throughout high school, I volunteered at the world-renowned Monterey Bay Aquarium, taking every opportunity to learn more about the aquarium and its animals through job shadows and extra classes in the evenings.

How did your university experiences prepare you for your career?

While attending Texas A&M, I traveled to Alaska and Greece to help graduate students collect data through destination research courses. In Alaska, we collected data on the local sea otter population to monitor its overall health and recovery. In Greece, we researched the local dolphin populations, tracking their movements and determining if the population was a transient or resident pod. We also studied the sustainability of the local fisheries and their farming practices. I also had the opportunity to study in the Marine Mammal Behavioral Ecology Group, identifying individual dolphins throughout consecutive years in various places around the world. The data was being used to determine if the pods were residential or transient and if they were present all year or just at certain seasons.

My last summer in college, I was able to volunteer with the Houston Audubon Society and American Bird Conservancy as a nest site steward. Galveston Island is a nesting site for Piping Plovers and Least Terns. Both birds nest on the ground during a high traffic time – summer vacation. As a volunteer, I would educate beachgoers about the birds and how best to avoid disturbing them with friendly reminders to remain outside the roped areas and keeping their dogs on leashes. Species counts were also taken at the beginning of the shifts and nest sites were visited in order to determine the health of the nest and local population.

You just passed your first anniversary working for CDFW’s CRFS program. How does this statewide survey effort benefit the fishery?

CRFS plays a very important role in the sustainability of our local fisheries by collecting fishery-dependent data on California’s marine recreational fisheries and estimating catch and effort. These data provide fisheries managers with the best possible science needed for management decisions.

What is your typical survey day like?

Upon arrival at the sample sites, a starting count of anglers (or trailers) is taken to help determine the effort at or originating from the site. As anglers are leaving, we interview them and ask questions about their fishing trip. We ask questions like what time they began fishing at that location, or – if they were on a boat – we get a launch time in order to determine the length of time of their trip. We also ask where they were fishing and at what depth, in order to collect data on areas that are being fished. A target species is notated as well as all catch whether kept or released. If they have kept fish, we will take weight and length measurements of the fish as well as a total number of each species. Lastly, we will collect a zip code, number of anglers in the group and number of days fished over the past 12 months in order to determine where people are coming from to fish and how much effort they exhibit over a year.

What do anglers think of the surveys?

Most of the time, anglers are receptive to the surveys and understand that it helps to maintain sustainable fisheries. I have had anglers thank me for doing my job many of them are excited to see us out there helping to monitor the health of the fisheries. There are always a few people in a hurry, or who have had a bad day and will refuse to answer questions, in which case I will just move on to the next angler.

What’s the most interesting thing you have seen doing your surveys?

I get to see a variety of interesting things while at work but the most fascinating to me was a colony of Salps that got tangled on an angler’s line while on a sport fishing boat. She pulled up her line and a colony of around 20-30 individuals were wrapped around her line. As the line was pulled out of the water, the colony broke apart, but a few were left stuck to the line. Many of the anglers (deckhands included) thought the “alien” looking creature was a kind of egg sac. They are oblong and clear with a deep orange/red ball in the upper corner. Salps are a deep water organism that don’t get to be seen often, especially not held in the palm of your hand.

What do you like most about working for CDFW?

I enjoy constantly learning about new species and discovering new information about those I am familiar with already! I also enjoy being able to discuss conservation efforts with some of the anglers and hearing their stories from growing up and seeing how much the fisheries have changed.

Is there a particular species or project that you’d like to learn more about?

I have always been fascinated by the intelligence of octopus. I would enjoy getting to study them more closely in the future. I am also very interested in population dynamics of Ornithology and habitat usage and conservation for nesting grounds of threatened species.

You’re still early in your career. What would you like to be doing in 10 years?

In 10 years I hope to be involved in conservation research and public education hopefully involving either cephalopods or marsh birds and habitats.

CDFW photos courtesy of Alaina Conrad

Christy prepares for a day’s work underwater at La Jolla.


Christy Juhasz works on an abalone density survey off the northern California coast.

CDFW Environmental Scientist Christy Juhasz works for the Marine Region’s Invertebrate Management Project, where she is primarily responsible for managing California’s Dungeness crab fisheries. Christy coordinates preseason quality and domoic acid testing for the commercial fishery, summarizes seasonal landings data and works on rulemaking proposals for both the commercial and recreational Dungeness fisheries.

A Southern California native, Christy earned a bachelor’s degree in marine biology, with a minor in oceanography, from the University of California, Los Angeles. Soon after graduating, Christy’s first paid position involved monitoring and trapping the invasive European green crab in several northern California bays and estuaries. Afterwards, she began working for CDFW as a scientific aid at the Shellfish Health Laboratory, located at the Bodega Marine Laboratory in Bodega Bay, where she spent several years testing quality control measures of a sabellid, polychaete worm that had been introduced at aquaculture facilities.

In 2007, she became a certified CDFW diver and began assisting in abalone density surveys conducted on the Sonoma and Mendocino coasts. In 2011, she was hired in her current position to work on Dungeness crab fisheries management.

What led you to a career in marine biology?

As a child, I spent an inordinate amount at the coast and particularly enjoyed exploring tidepools. I was always fascinated by the creatures that eke out an existence on the water’s edge, fostering my love of marine invertebrate species. This only grew after taking an invertebrate taxonomy course, becoming certified in scientific diving and volunteering at a small, local marine aquarium while in college where I was able to share my love of native California marine life with the public.

Not many people can say they get to dive as part of their job duties. What’s that like?

Before coming to work at CDFW, most of my diving experience was in the warmer waters of Southern California and the Bahamas for training and research, respectively. Diving in the colder and rougher northern California ocean waters has been interesting. My job has taken me to some beautiful underwater habitat where diverse and colorful kelps, invertebrates and rockfish species abound, while also making me a much better diver.

One interesting CDFW dive location includes the site of Mavericks, although not at the height of the surfing season. We were there to assess the red abalone population within the Marine Protected Area and I was able to observe firsthand the effects of the intense wave action that had eroded away the subtidal rocky reef promontories.

How frequently do you get to dive?

Recently, I had my first child so have not been able to get back underwater as intensely since before I was pregnant. Prior to this, I was an active CDFW diver, primarily assisting with monitoring red abalone populations in the summer months. Diving and field work, in general, are always fun to go out and do in coastal locations, but they do require a lot of planning and preparation. Actual collection of data while SCUBA diving really teaches you to be in the moment, as you have multiple tasks to complete underwater. Obviously safety is paramount and you have to pay attention to the air you consume while you’re working, which ultimately limits the amount time you have underwater.

Today, most of your work relates to Dungeness crab. What do you find interesting about this particular fishery?

The Dungeness crab commercial fishery is one of California’s highest valued fisheries and is also one of the state’s oldest fisheries. In fact, regulations governing take of legal-sized males around a set seasonal period date back to the turn of the 20th century, and are known as the 3-S management principle (sex, size and season). The fishery does widely fluctuate from season to season, but with California landings dating back to just over 100 seasons, there have been no observable, long-term crashes in catch history. In recent seasons, the fishery has experienced some record landings in both management areas of the fishery, especially in the central region, which in the past decades rarely contributed to the majority of statewide landings.

I enjoy and thrive in my job under the dynamic and varying responsibilities and tasks that support the operations of the fishery. Whether I’m working on rulemaking packages, meeting with constituents for various issues or incorporating new or more extensive sampling procedures – it’s all very interesting.

Do you work with species other than Dungeness crab?

Yes. Some of my monitoring and rulemaking work involves other invertebrate fisheries in California, which have been increasing in importance (see link to journal article below). This raises new challenges for fisheries managers, especially considering the many invertebrate fisheries we oversee and the various life history strategies characteristic of each species.

For instance, red urchin and red abalone have to be relatively near one another for successful fertilization after they release their gametes into the water column. This is in contrast to Dungeness crab, which mate during the period when females molt, and brood eggs before they hatch. These differences just reveal how each fishery requires a unique set of regulations to effectively manage them.

What is the most rewarding project that you’ve worked on for CDFW?

I have been collaborating with other CDFW staff to monitor the arrival of the Dungeness crab megalopae – that’s the last pelagic, larval stage of crabs before they molt and settle to the bottom as juveniles – to California’s bays and estuaries. The study aims to determine if there is link between their relative number and size, and perhaps predict commercial catch three to four years later, which is about when these crabs would grow into the fishery. Work on this is still preliminary, but in the time we have been observing, we have noticed big differences in total numbers and average size. This may be driven by optimal ocean conditions since the planktonic larval stages spend an average of four months total in the water column during the winter and spring months.

I’m also involved in the rulemaking process for the Dungeness crab commercial fishery. One current development is the creation of a formal statewide program for incentivizing the retrieval of lost and abandoned Dungeness crab traps at the end of each season. The fishery has rules in place such as the use of a destruct device that wears away, to allow escapement and prevent a lost or abandoned trap from continuously capturing organisms. However, traps attached to a buoy with vertical lines in the water column that remain in the water past the season pose additional hazards to marine life and vessel traffic. The industry has been piloting local programs for the past several seasons. A formal program is expected to be in place by the end of the 2018-19 season.

Recent seasons of the Dungeness crab fishery have been plagued by high domoic acid levels and low quality, leading to season delays. How has this changed the nature of your work?

The pre-season quality testing has been conducted for the northern portion of the fishery for many years in concert with Washington and Oregon testing. Although procedures have been modified over the years, the scheduled delays are built into the current operations of the fishery. The fishery cannot be delayed due to quality issues past January 15, whereas with domoic acid season delays are unpredictable.

Our efforts to monitor Dungeness crab are more extensive before the start of the season. Dungeness crab fishermen are key players in this task, as I call and email with them to collect and retrieve samples throughout the fishery’s range statewide (this is similar to how the quality testing is conducted as well). I also coordinate with staff from the California of Department of Public Health to ensure that samples collected are properly received by their laboratory testing facility. During the 2015-16 delayed season, CDFW staff worked tirelessly on this sampling effort while navigating the problem under current regulations and effectively communicating the latest information on the status of the delay and potential opening of the season. This was especially important in light of lost revenue due to the unforeseen delays.

Do you expect that domoic acid will continue to be a problem in future seasons?

Domoic acid is a neurotoxin produced by a unicellular algal organisms that thrive in warm water. The domoic acid problem that caused the severe delay of the 2015-16 season was thought to be a direct effect of the anomalous (unusual) ocean warming from the “warm blob” that developed off of US West Coast in 2014. As these anomalous warming ocean conditions persist, so does the problem of harmful algal blooms that cause domoic acid. This has become a top priority for discussion between industry, the Dungeness crab task force and other affected fisheries and agencies. 

CDFW Photos. Top Photo: Christy measuring a dungeness crab.

For Further Reading:

• 2011 Annual Status of the Fisheries Report – Dungeness crab (PDF)
• Marine Invertebrate Survey and Assessment Project
• The Rise of Invertebrate Fisheries and the Fishing Down of Marine Food Webs in California published in California Fish and Game’s Journal 100th Edition (PDF)