Waters Where Tidewater Goby Swims Get Critical Habitat Designation

December 3, 2006

Release from: David Sneed
San Luis Obispo Tribune (California)

Seven creeks in San Luis Obispo County and the Santa Maria River have been declared critical habitat for a tiny endangered fish, the tidewater goby.

The creeks range from Point Piedras Blancas in the north to Pismo Creek in the south. The federal Fish and Wildlife Service announced their designation Tuesday.

The designations are likely to have little practical effect on management of the creeks because all but one -- the Santa Maria River -- are in state parks and are already managed to preserve their ecological value.

The tidewater goby is a small fish that lives in lagoons at creek mouths, estuaries and other areas that contain calm, brackish water. They rarely exceed two inches in length.

The gobies are endangered because of destruction of their habitat by coastal development and alteration of creek channels. Earlier this year, the federal government identified 25 creeks in the county that are or could be used by gobies.

Critical habitats are areas that biologists believe are crucial to the continued survival of the species. A public comment period on the designations runs until Jan. 29. Comments can be e-mailed to fw8gobypch@fws.gov.

San Luis Obispo County is one of 12 coastal counties in the state to have creeks designated as tidewater goby habitat.

The local creeks are:

• Arroyo del Corral, a creek about a mile north of Point Piedras Blancas;

• Oak Knoll Creek, about two miles north of San Simeon Point;

• Little Pico Creek, about three miles south of San Simeon Point;

• San Simeon Creek, at San Simeon State Beach;

• Villa Creek, about four miles west of Cayucos;

• San Geronimo Creek, about two miles west of Cayucos;

• Pismo Creek, just south of the Pismo Beach pier; and

• Santa Maria River, along the southern boundary of San Luis Obispo County.