Stockton Office technician identifying juvenile fish in the lab. (Photo: USFWS)

Paul Cadrett, Stockton FWO
The Delta Juvenile Fishes Monitoring Program (DJFMP) at the Stockton, California Fish and Wildlife Office (FWO) has been sampling the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, the delta and bay since the 1970’s for juvenile fish.  Due to the large number of native and non-native fish species in this system, accurate identification of these fish has been identified as a high priority by the USFWS. Late in 2001, the DJFMP hired a quality assessment/quality control (QA/QC) biologist for fish identification with responsibilities including teaching fish ID to the field crew and checking fish ID in the field. 

The Stockton office has developed a fish identification manual including characteristics and photos of all native and non-native freshwater species found throughout the estuary including many of the marine species. The QA/QC biologist also maintains a teaching collection of preserved fishes for use in a fish ID class, which is taught three times a year.  The day long fish identification class includes a half day lecture followed by lab work. This May a special fish ID class was held for staff from our partner agency the California Department of Fish and Game. John Pedretti contributed to this report.