Warren S. Wooster

Pacific Basin climate variability and patterns of Northeast Pacific marine fish production

Abstract A review of oceanographic and climate data from the North Pacific and Bering Sea has revealed climate events that occur on two principal time scales: a) 2–7 years (i.e. El Nino Southern Oscillation, ENSO), and b) inter-decadal (i.e. Pacific Decadal Oscillation, PDO). The timing of ENSO events and of related oceanic changes at higher latitudes were examined. The frequency of ENSO was high in the 1980s. Evidence of ENSO forcing on ocean conditions in the North Pacific (Nino North conditions) showed ENSO events were more frequently observed along the West Coast than in the western Gulf of Alaska (GOA) and Eastern Bering Sea (EBS). Time series of catches for 30 region/species groups of salmon, and recruitment data for 29 groundfish and 5 non-salmonid pelagic species, were examined for evidence of a statistical relationship with any of the time scales associated with Nino North conditions or the PDO. Some flatfish stocks exhibited high autocorrelation in recruitment coupled with a significant step in recruitment in 1977 suggesting a relationship between PDO forcing and recruitment success. Five of the dominant gadid stocks (EBS and GOA Pacific cod, Pacific hake and EBS and GOA walleye pollock) exhibited low autocorrelation in recruitment. Of these, Pacific hake, GOA walleye pollock and GOA Pacific cod exhibited significantly higher incidence of strong year classes in years associated with Nino North conditions. These findings suggest that the PDO and ENSO may play an important role in governing year-class strength of several Northeast Pacific marine fish stocks.

Sea surface temperature variability in coastal areas of the northeastern Pacific related to the El Niño‐Southern Oscillation and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation

We examined monthly time-series (1950 to 1999) of sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in 47 quadrants (2° × 2°) along the coast of North America and their relation to the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). We used the Multivariate ENSO Index (MEI) and the PDO Index (PDOI) and assumed a linear interaction of the mechanisms behind their interannual variations. Then, we examined SST anomalies as functions of MEI and PDOI using multiple linear regression (MLR). On average, ENSO influence decreases poleward but is still dominant at 31°N. Northward, the PDO signal dominates. MLR was also applied to selected sea level height (SLH) series. ENSO effects on SLH were clear up to 48°N, while PDO showed a weak effect only in the Gulf of Alaska. This suggests that, poleward of Southern California, ENSO effects may be largely restricted to the inshore coastal environment.

CalCOFI: a half century of physical, chemical, and biological research in the California Current System

Abstract The California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) program has been sampling the physics, chemistry, and biology of the California Current System since 1949, making it the worlds longest-running multi-disciplinary oceanographic field program. Founded by leading marine scientists, CalCOFI from its inception took an ecosystem approach to understanding physical–biological coupling in the ocean. Its 54-year time series (and counting) now permits an exploration of a range of oceanographic and fisheries problems across a broad temporal spectrum. As a celebration of more than half a century of CalCOFI, this issue presents 13 manuscripts that sample the breadth of integrated marine research conducted under its auspices.

On Fishery Science and Management

On the last day of the workshop, there was a general discussion led by Peter Larkin and a panel consistingof1 Lee Alverson, Mare Miller, Gordon Orians and Bemard Skud. Subsequently, Larkin provided the following comments on the workshop as a whole. These stimulated Wooster and Miller to attempt an evaluation of the present status of the relationship between fishery science and management which follows the Larkin commentary.

Research in troubled waters: U.S. research vessel clearance experience, 1972–1978

Abstract The experience of U.S. institutions in obtaining permission to conduct oceanographic research in areas under foreign jurisdiction has been reviewed for the years 1972–1978. There were 441 clearance events identified involving 68 countries. Seven percent of the requests were denied and 21 percent were subject to inordinate delays. The incidence of denials has increased during the last few years. Reasons given for denials related to insufficient advance notice, inadequate arrangements, unacceptable conditions, or disputed jurisdiction. Provisions of the Draft Convention for the Law of the Sea may alleviate some of these problems.

International studies of the Indian Ocean, 1959–1965

Abstract An oceanographic exploration of much of the Indian Ocean took place during 1959–1965 in the framework of the International Indian Ocean Expedition. Organised and coordinated by international organisations, the Expedition involved 23 countries, many from outside the region. An analysis is made of the role of international organisations, the nature of planning and coordination, the relative importance of fundamental and applied research, the published products of the Expedition, and its benefits to developed and developing countries. Some lessons for the organisation of future cooperative ventures are suggested.

New marine science organization formed

A new international organization, the North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES) will be established to promote and coordinate marine scientific research in the northern North Pacific Ocean and the Berlin Sea. This was decided in Ottawa on December 12, 1990, when a draft convention was approved by representatives of Canada, China, Japan, the United States, and the Soviet Union. PICES will focus on research on the ocean environment and its interactions with land and atmosphere, its role and response to global weather and climate change, its flora, fauna and ecosystems, its uses and resources, and impacts upon it from human activities. Such studies relate not only to the effects of fishing and environmental change on fish stocks but also to such issues as the impacts of oil spills and other forms of pollution and the eventual consequences of climate change for uses of the ocean and its resources.

Global versus Local Changes in Upwelling Systems (Collection Colloques et séminaires)

I set out to review this book with considerable anticipation. The subject is one I have thought about for many years, and I am acquainted with most of the editors and many of the authors. It soon became apparent that this treatise is of such interest and importance that one would need months of reading and pages of commentary to do it justice. The book resulted from the Climate and Eastern Ocean Systems Project (CEOS) of ORSTOM, NMFS, and ICLARM∗ which was devoted to the study of the potential effects of global and local environmental changes on the resources of upwelling systems, particularly those off Peru, Chile, California, Northwest, and Southwest Africa. These systems contain large stocks of sardines, anchovies and other small pelagic fishes and are dominated by processes of enrichment, concentration and retention that are functions of atmospheric forcing, ocean dynamics, and fresh water inflow, all sensitive to climate change. Through comparisons of forcing and response in these several systems, it was hoped that new generalizations would emerge. The papers are particularly refreshing since they feed one of my favorite prejudices: they recognize that not all major changes in fish stocks are caused by overfishing. Instead they focus on a search for envir-

Some implications of ocean research

Abstract The funding of much of ocean research is justified on the basis of expected benefits. Such research also has political implications relating to the law of the sea and to the transfer of technology. These implications are illustrated in an analysis of up‐welling research. Potential benefits include the prediction of fishery yields, the forecasting of weather and climate, and the location and assessment of nonliving resources. Because of the location of coastal upwelling, many developing countries are concerned with sharing in these benefits. This concern has affected negotiations over control of marine scientific research in the law‐of‐the‐sea negotiations and is related to the need to develop scientific capability in such countries.

Where is El Niño

I enjoyed George Philanders note, “Who is El Nino?,” (Eos, March 31, 1998, p. 170) and his effort to rationalize the Nino nomenclature. There is a further complication that he does not mention—the widespread labeling of El Nino as any unusual warming far from the equator, whether or not it is linked to the tropical event. This leads to considerable confusion, since the timings and intensities of these occurrences may be very different. For example, El Nino of 1972–1973 was a major event in the tropics that was associated with the collapse of the Peruvian anchoveta fishery, and yet significant sea-surface temperature anomalies were barely detectable north of southern California. No one on the Washington coast would have called this El Nino. On the other hand, the minor tropical event of 1976–1977 was associated with the regime shift in the eastern North Pacificsemi; unusual surface warming as far north as the Bering Sea persisted into the early 1980s. Should both the 10-month tropical event and the 5-year subarctic event be called El Nino? The current frenzy over the 1997–1998 event, where subarctic warming was contemporaneous with equatorial developments, demonstrates the need to regularize the terminology.