The Nature Conservancy in Washington - Surf Smelt Good Vibrations at Lily Point, Washington

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Press Release

The Conservancy's Washington Program recently acquired land at Lily Point.

Sediment at Lily Point provides important spawning ground for the surf smelt. Read our press release here.

The gravelly beaches of Puget Sound are inviting spawning ground for surf smelt and other forage fish, like sand lance and herring. These small fish are crucial to the survival of salmon and the entire marine food web of Puget Sound.

They feed on plankton and in turn are food for salmon and other fish, seabirds and marine mammals. And they are dependent on stretches of undeveloped beaches that are nourished by big feeder bluffs that keep a continuous supply of sediment to the shoreline.

Spawning Surf Smelt

Surf smelt have developed a highly ritualized and adapted spawning behavior.

When the tide is high, they assemble high in the intertidal zone of the gravelly. Several males will align themselves with a ripe female. The female and males will vibrate in unison, causing the release of eggs and sperm.

The fertilized surf smelt eggs adhere to the sand grains where they are laid. Waves and tide bury the eggs to incubate in the sand. During incubation, they are alternately submerged in saltwater and exposed to the air as the tide moves in and out.

When they hatch, surf smelt eggs release larva measuring about 3 mm, or an eighth of an inch, which drift in the nearshore tides and currents, feeding on plankton. After about 3 months they have grown to about an inch long, and take on their adult form and coloration.

Why We Selected Lily Point

Protecting habitat and spawning grounds for forage fish like the surf smelt is one key reason that The Nature Conservancy purchased land at Lily Point, on Point Roberts, in December.

Situated between the vast Fraser River Delta and the extensive tideflats of Boundary Bay, Lily Point’s has huge forested bluffs overlooking the beach. As these feeder bluffs erode, they deposit debris from the uplands, including plant and forest nutrients as well as sand and gravel that nourish both shoreline and sea. This sediment replenishes the beaches at Lily Point, creating those important spawning grounds.