[2] It is native to the Pacific coast of North America ranging from Point Arguello, California, northward to Shelikof Bay, southeast Alaska.

They spawn nocturnally over coarse sand beaches in the surf zone, from Point Arguello in central California to southeast Alaska.

[4] They are bright golden to silvery in color and give off the distinctive odor of cucumber commonly found in other smelt species.

[5] As a member of the smelt family, they possess a small adipose fin on their dorsal side, which is a distinguishing feature.

[6] Night smelt are found across the west coast of North America, spanning from the Shelikof Bay of Alaska to Point Arguello in central California.

[7] A single specimen was collected in Discovery Bay, Washington, on the eastern end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

[8] In the continental U.S, the night smelt is most commonly found from La Push, Washington to central California.

[1] Slama (1994)[10] collected night smelt specimens from Freshwater Beach, Humboldt County in 1992 and 1993 to report their stomach content.

Food content consisted of Onuphidae (a family of polychaete worms), crustaceans composed of gammarid amphipods, mysids, Crangon spp, diastylid cumacea, larval smelt, and fish embryos.

[4] Historically, night smelt has been fished on sandy beaches along the coast of California and Oregon to Moss Landing in Monterey Bay.

[9] For hundreds of years, this species has been fished for subsistence and cultural purposes for the indigenous tribes of Humboldt and Del Norte counties.

[12] In recent decades, night smelt has been actively chosen to replace the lhvsmr population, who have been drastically reduced, for dietary needs.

[3] Environmental conditions play a critical role in the reproductive patterns and distribution of marine organisms and, consequently, the fisheries that they support.

The potential of spawning habitat losses due to sea level rise could pose a major threat to the survival of night smelt populations.

[10] Historically, beaches that were fished for night smelt in California have been greatly reduced in width with extensive erosion of adjacent cliffs.