2018 CalCOFI Conference

The 2018 CalCOFI Conference was held Dec 3-5 in the NOAA Fisheries Southwest Fisheries Science Center on the Scripps Institution of Oceanography Campus, San Diego, in La Jolla, CA.  (Map & Directions). Thanks to everyone who participated!

All information regarding the conference is available at the CalCOFI conference website at:

http://oceaninformatics.ucsd.edu/calcofi/conference/

Symposium Topic: Spatial dynamics and organization of populations in response to environmental parameters

Convener:  Deb Wilson-Vandenberg, California Department of Fish and Wildlife

The abundance and distribution of key marine resources varies spatially and temporally in the California Current Ecosystem, dynamically changing due to physical or biological factors, and our ability to predict these phenomena has been limited. Key forage species may aggregate in regions of high productivity that may be influenced by a variety of environmental variables – for example, krill have been known to aggregate in association with sea mounts. The unforeseen co-occurrence of the spatial distribution of anchovies and feeding humpback whales combined with the regulatory timing of Dungeness crab trap placements increased the potential for gear entanglements and resulted in increased management efforts. While advances in monitoring and sampling methods continue to improve information on real-time distribution and abundance, resources available for continued or expanded data gathering are limited. Modeling capabilities have advanced, enhancing  our ability to incorporate an increasing diversity of variables and more effectively simulate and predict spatial variation. [b3] How can modeling spatial distribution be used to provide a better understanding of species or community interactions or be incorporated into management? The 2018 Symposium will highlight current efforts to improve our understanding of spatial dynamics of marine resources and our ability to predict or forecast them. Topics may include prey-switching, forecasting, modeling, applications for stock assessments and management implications.