New Creatures Added to Pacific Aquarium’s Ocean Health Tracker

The Long Beach aquarium has refreshed its free Marine Species Report Card, a public guide that shows how California’s coastal wildlife are doing. After two years of work, the original 30‑species list now grows to include three more: the cabezon fish, the horn shark and the sheep crab. The report card was built with help from scientists, government workers and many local groups. For each new species it lists what hurts them in the wild, how their numbers are changing and what conservation steps exist. The cabezon lives from Alaska to Baja California in rocky, kelp‑rich shorelines. From the 1960s to the mid‑1990s fishing was its main danger, but regulations have kept numbers fairly steady since then.

Horn sharks are classified as “least concern” and stay near rocks at night, which protects them from overfishing. Yet warming seas may stress young sharks, and researchers say more study is needed to understand this threat. Sheep crabs have stayed stable for 25 years, partly because commercial fishing stopped and only licensed recreational harvest remains. There is little research on how climate change might affect them. All three species can be seen at the aquarium’s Blue Cavern and Southern California Gallery. The aquarium also works on other projects, such as kelp protection, sea‑turtle care and the Sea Otter Surrogacy Program. Visitors learn about their ocean neighbors through exhibit signs, trading cards and the report card itself. Community members can join clean‑ups or habitat projects to help keep coastlines healthy.

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