There is overwhelming evidence that many species of fish are reliant upon coastal habitats during the juvenile stage of their life cycle. The plants of the marsh both protect young fish from predators but also give them ample prey to consume for development.

We consider two species of fish with commercial and recreational relevance: California halibut (Paralichthys californicus) and white seabass (Atractoscion nobilis). Distributional data shows that juveniles are present in nearly every coastal bay, lagoon, and estuary in southern California. Furthermore, these species have a long history of restoration efforts at Mission Bay thanks to the Hubbs-Seaworld Research Institute who have released thousands of juvenile white seabass and California halibut.

Notably, the estimate above does not include any value gained by recreational fisheries. It only represents the expected commercial landings of the increased number of juvenile California halibut and white seabass that would survive to commercial size. To get this, we conduct life table analyses, use ex-vessel value price data, and constrain catch rates using fishing mortality estimates.

By restoring the wetlands, we will create new habitat for juvenile California halibut and white seabass to occupy. This will reduce their mortality rates and consequently increase the fishable population for commercial and recreational fisheries.