Growout Facility Coordinator
Core Program
Sustainable Seafood
Education
B.S., Marine Biology, University of California San Diego
M.S., Marine Conservation, University of Miami
Victor is the Growout Facility Coordinator with the OREHP, managing the tagging, transport and growth of juvenile white seabass (Atractoscion nobilis) produced at the Carlsbad hatchery. Victor and the tagging team will tag tens of thousands of young fish each year, which will then grow larger in growout cages located at various sites ranging from Ventura to San Diego, including one in Catalina Island. The cages (also called growout pens) are mostly run by volunteers, who will help raise the fish to a larger size (8″ to 12″) before releasing them into the wild. In addition to this, Victor also assists with underwater maintenance and broodstock collection of both finfish and invertebrates for HSWRI. Born in France, Victor is originally from Spain and has studied in universities both in California and Florida, having extensive experience with field work, tag and recapture research methods, and handling marine megafauna.
Publications
MacNamara, R., Shane, M., Bach Muñoz, V., Drawbridge, M. (2025) Assessing postrelease mortality in hook-and-line fishing of a large coastal sciaenid, the white seabass (Atractoscion nobilis). Fisheries Bulletin, 123(2), 119-126.
Bach Muñoz, V. (2023) Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) Predation on an Abnormal California Butterfly Ray (Gymnura marmorata) and its ecological implications. Waterbirds, 45(4), 479-483.
– Williams, L., Anstett, A., Bach Muñoz, V., Chisholm, J., Davis, W., Fallows, C., Green, J., Higuera Rivas, J.E., Skomal, G., Winton, M., Hammerschlag, N. (2021) Sharks as exfoliators: widespread chafing between marine organisms suggests an unexplored ecological role. Ecology. e03570
Shivlani, M., Bach Muñoz, V., Butler, K., Dawsey, J., Fisher, K., Katchenago, J., May, R., Stauber, A., and Swartz, A. (2020) F. Caribbean Region. Yearbook of International Environmental Law, 29(2018), 239-243.