The 2013 CalCOFI Conference was held in the NOAA Fisheries Southwest Fisheries Science Center on the Scripps Institution of Oceanography Campus, in La Jolla, CA, 9-11 December, 2013 ( Map ).

Thanks to all presenters and attendees for making it such a great success.

The Symposium of the Conference: Forage species and assemblages in the California Current System

Forage fish and squids have long been recognized to be an important component of the California Current System, beyond the importance of sardine, market squid, anchovy and mackerels that support both large and small fisheries. Studies to date have generally taken a single species approach to forage fish. Assessments and monitoring are currently conducted on discrete species. However it is increasingly recognized that the forage species constitute a dynamic assemblage where species dominance varies over time, outbursts and rapid declines are endemic, and the roles of predator and prey in the ecosystem change both with species abundance and with growth in size within individual species. The complex role of forage needs to be better understood as ecosystem-based management becomes established practice.

The CalCOFI Symposium was convened by: Sam McClatchie, NOAA Fisheries, SWFSC

Please review CalCOFI Reports Vol. 55 2014 for papers presented or submitted for publication.

 

The authors, topics and allotted times were:

  1. John Field & Alec MacCall (NOAA, SWFSC). A historical perspective on the evolution of ecosystem-based fisheries management in the California Current system. (30 min)
  2. Selina Heppell (Oregon state University). Recommended rules of thumb for forage fish management: how are we doing in the California Current? (30 min)
  3. Martin Lindegren (SIO), Tristan Rouyer, Alec MacCall, Nils Chr. Stenseth, David Checkley, Jr. Climate, Fishing, and Fluctuations of Sardine and Anchovy in the California Current. (30 min)
  4. Sarah Glaser (University of Denver). Simplifying complex food webs for ecosystem-based management. (30 min)
  5. Juan Zwolinski, David Demer et al. (NOAA, SWFSC). Coastwide distribution and abundance of forage based on acoustic trawl surveys in 2012 and 2013. (30 min)
  6. Tony Koslow (SIO), Eric Miller (MBC) & John McGowan (SIO). Trends in forage fish abundance in the southern California Current System: comparison of power plant intake and CalCOFI ichthyoplankton time series. (30 min)
  7. Noelle Bowlin (SWFSC/ SIO). Mesopelagic fishes as forage (preliminary title). (15 min)
  8. Ric Brodeur et al. (NOAA, NWFSC). Seasonal and inter-annual variability in important forage and dependencies of predators on particular forage fish in the California Current System. (30 min)
  9. Sam McClatchie, Andrew Thompson & Bill Watson (NOAA, SWFSC) Secular and inter-annual changes in the spawning habitat of forage fish off California. (30 min)
  10. Sharon Melin et al. (NOAA, NMML) Sea lion foraging study (30 min)
  11. Jeff Laake (NOAA NMML) Female California sea lion diet and pup growth. (15 min)
  12. Mark Lowry (NOAA, SWFSC). Temporal and spatial differences in the diet of California sea lions at San Clemente Island and San Nicolas Island. (30 min)
  13. Lisa Webb (Moss Landing). Spatio-temporal variability in forage fishes in the region revealed by a piscivorous seabird, Brandt’s Cormorant. (15 min)
  14. Julie Thayer, Amber Szoboszlai, Laura Koehn, Tim Essington, William Sydeman (Farallon Institute) Meta-analysis of food habits for marine predators in the California Current over the past century
  15. Jeffrey Dorman, Ramona Zeno, Jarrod Santora, Steven Bograd, Marisol Garcia-Reyes, and William Sydeman (Farallon Institute). Modeling spatial-temporal dynamics of krill prey fields in the central California Current
  16. Mary Hunsicker, Tim Essington, Robert Olson and Leanne Duffy (NCEAS) Evidence of increased cephalopod production in the eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean. (15 min)
  17. Dan Rudnick (SIO) A 7-year climatology of underwater glider data along CalCOFI lines 66.7, 80 and 90. (30 min)

Conference-related communications should be addressed to:

John Heine
CalCOFI Conference Coordinator
Southwest Fisheries Science Center
566 Plaza Rd.
Atlantic Beach, FL 32233 USA
Telephone: (904) 521-3526
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Symposium questions should be addressed to:
Dr. Sam McClatchie
Supervisory Oceanographer, NOAA Fisheries
Telephone: (858) 546-7083
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.