Mermaid Scientist

Know your mackerel. Here are three easy ways to identify a jack mackerel versus a Pacific mackerel.

Pacific Mackerel (Scomber japonicus):
• Wavy lines on blue-green background
• Dorsal fins are widely separated
• Finlets present

Jack Mackerel (Trachurus symmetricus):
• Dark spot on gill cover
• Scutes along arched lateral line
• No finlets

The torpedo shape and finlets of the Pacific mackerel make it look like a tiny tuna. This is because Pacific mackerel are in the same family as tunas (Scombrid family). The jack mackerel is in a completely different family with jacks (Carangidae). Jacks and yellowtail are in the same family as the jack mackerel. If you think about it, knowing your mackerel is really just a matter of recognizing the difference between a jack and a tuna.
for the California Dept of Fish and Wildlife

Seabass-ically this is my illustration of a croaker not a bass.
Fun fact: this California “White sea bass” produces low drumming/croaking sounds using muscles near their swim bladder. Taxonomically speaking (or croaking for those of us with swim bladders) this is a croaker.

Juvenile sargo (Anisotremus davidsonii) are out here in shallow coastal waters, schooling up and rocking their signature stripes from Southern California to Baja California.

But plot twist:
this isn’t even their final form.

As adults, they switch it up, trading multiple stripes for one big, bold stripe,
No notes.

I am tickled to grace the cover of the recent California Dept of Fish and Wildlife By the Numbers Report, counting and measuring Pismo clams. All the California fisheries and research tallies from 2025 are in this report, and a few of my fish illustrations. Available on the CDFW website for those who are super into numbers. 🐟🔢

Big ocean moment 🌊

Honored to serve on the Advisory Council for the newest National Marine Sanctuary in the United States — the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary.

This is history-level cool. New sanctuaries are rare. They take years of vision, science, advocacy, and collaboration. To see one designated here on California’s Central Coast is extraordinary.

Even more meaningful: this sanctuary will be guided in partnership with the Northern Chumash Tribal Council — a powerful step toward a more inclusive, culturally grounded approach to ocean stewardship.

I previously served on the Santa Barbara Channel National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council, and stepping into this new chapter feels like both a continuation and an evolution.

Grateful. Energized. Ready to get to work. 🌊

Meet the Zebraperch—a fish that is absolutely not a perch. It’s a Sea Chub.
Yes, SEA CHUB. I don’t name them, I just paint them.

Scientifically: sea chub.
Socially: perch-adjacent.
Aesthetically: striped and fabulous.

My watercolor of this cute fish living its best mislabeled life. 🐟✨