My Summer with Fish
An SRJC-BML Internship Story
Hello, my name is Esmeralda Padilla-Garcia, and this summer I had the opportunity to intern at the UC Davis – Bodega Marine Laboratory through my school, Santa Rosa Junior College. I am currently enrolled at SRJC as a Biology major, and I plan to transfer to a university in Fall 2026. My passion lies in Human Biology and medicine, so participating in a marine biology internship was a step outside my comfort zone. It was my Animal Biology professor, Shawn Brumbaugh, who encouraged me to apply, and I am incredibly glad that I did. One lesson Professor Brumbaugh shares with his students—and one that has stayed with me—is that biology can be applicable to any job you choose to do. In other words, although I want to pursue a job in the medical field, it will broaden my knowledge by understanding marine biology, as they are connected in so many different ways. Master’s student in the ToPEC lab at UC Davis, Jordan Colby, was my mentor during this internship. I worked with Jordan in the California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program (CCFRP). The CCFRP is an incredible program whose mission is to monitor the marine protected areas (or MPA’s) along the central California coast. The CCFRP examines the effects of MPAs on local marine resources and evaluates their effectiveness as a tool for conservation and fish management. The BML division of the CCFRP actively monitors two MPA’s; Bodega Head and Stewarts Point. This program collaborates with charter boats and volunteer anglers to collect data and study fish populations both inside and outside the MPAS.
The method they use to collect this data is catch and release by hook and lining fish. Once a fish is caught we record the type (species), size (length), and as well as the number of fish caught by the end of the day. Some fish were given a tag so that overtime we could track their movement. With this data they can determine whether there are any changes in fished and unfished populations due to differences in the area, season, year, or level of protections. This is all important to assess the
effectiveness of marine reserves I worked on the boat as a Sciencecrew member. This was my first time on a boat out to sea, as well as my first time even holding a fish. On this boat I help with the set up and clean up, at the beginning and end of our fishing days. Once an angler caught a fish, I was responsible for taking the fish off the line and delivering it to the data collector, so that the angler could keep fishing. I also participated in dissection days, in which we dissected a sample of fish that was given to us from anglers around the bay. With these fish we collected the otoliths, as well as took a look into the stomach to find the gonads and determine the sex and maturity of the fish.
Although this experience was very new and at times challenging, I am very glad that I pushed myself to do this internship. The long boat days went by quickly as I was surrounded by an amazing crew of people who always checked in on me and made me feel at home. I would like to thank my mentor Jordan Colby, who was always willing to answer any of my questions and take the time to show me how to do things step by step. When working with Jordan Colby, I could tell he truly does have a huge passion for what he does and his high energy on the long boat days never failed to uplift my spirits.
About the Program:
The SRJC-BML Internship Program provides summer research opportunities for Santa Rosa Junior College students at the Bodega Marine Laboratory.