 Distribution of Bay Goby in San
Francisco Bay
Bay gobies range from Baja
California to Vancouver Island, B.C. and are common to bays and estuaries.
Although they have been reported to grow to about 87 mm TL
(Miller and Lea 1976), bay gobies greater than 87 mm TL were
commonly collected by this study, with the largest specimen
108 mm TL. Bay gobies have been reported to live up to 7+ years,
although based upon length frequency data collected by CDFG, their life
span may be as little as two or three years.
Bay gobies were the most abundant goby species collectedy from 1980 to 1992.
They were found primarily in the more marine embayments of the estuary. The major
portion of their population typically resided in the San Pablo, Central and South
bays, with upstream extensions into Suisun Bay and West Delta occurin in years with
low outflow. Of the three major embayments for bay gobies, San Pablo and South Bays
were the primary nursery areas, while the 1+ bay gobies were more abundant in Central
Bay.
In San Francisco Bay, spawning occurs throughout the year
with peaks occurring between June and October.
An Annual Abundance Index for the Bay Goby is generated by
the San Francisco Bay Monitoring Program using Otter trawl data.
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