Week 1

Briefly, hydrographic data indicates distinctly a strong California Current (CC) as indicated by surface temp (-1 to -1.8) and salinity (-0.1 to - 0.35) anomalies and the location is confirmed by 100m Temp. The CC is strongest 200 to 300 miles off the coast from Pt. Conception and San Diego respectively.  The flow is potentially divided into two bands or a filament jetting toward the coast outside the Channel Islands.  Zooplankton tows have been reported to be about average with higher than average amounts of phytoplankton (as determined by color and consistency) in the area of the California Current.  The Davidson counter current also appears anomalously strong with 10m Temp of +2 deg C common both within 20-40 miles of the coast of San Diego and between 100 and 160 miles off.  This warm water appears to be a lack of upwelling as seen by the prevalent -0.2 salinity anomalies at 10 meter and is seen over a wide area the Southern California Bight  I have personal knowledge of a strong migration of pelagic fishes in those areas this year.  Chlorophyll values very near shore off San Diego are 5-6 ug/liter and the highest seen so far including stations near L.A., Santa Barbara and Pt. Conception which were 2-3 ug/liter at the highest.

However, bird and mammal sightings seem to be a noticeably lower, although species such as blue whales, porpoise, minke and sperm whales are present, sampling may be low just by the chance nature of observing them along our grid. The CalCOFI 0808 cruise has been marked by low species diversity considering the summer season. We have only encountered four dolphin species (including both forms of common dolphins), five whale species and two pinniped species.

Short-beaked common dolphins were distributed along every line with the exception of line 93. There was a single confirmed sighting of long-beaked common dolphins close to shore while transiting north from line 83 to line 80. This coincides with past trends where short-beaked common dolphins are more commonly found further from shore while long-beaked common dolphins are observed close to shore.  There were several common dolphin groups that could not be identified to the species level (13 total sightings estimating 591 individuals).  Five bottlenose dolphin sightings occurred between San Clemente and Santa Catalina Islands on line 90. There was one mixed group of bottlenose and common dolphins sighted at the beginning of line 87. Our last species, pacific white-sided was sighted on line 77, which is to be expected as they are a cold water species.

Fin Whales, the most abundant whale sighted, were observed throughout the trackline with the highest density being encountered along line 77. Blue whale sightings were focused along line 90 south of the San Clemente/Santa Catalina Islands. Minke sightings were clustered close to shore along the northern transit from line 90 to line 87. There was one sperm whale encounter while on station 93/120.  Finally, we encountered a Humpback whale hot spot while transiting between stations 77/55 to 77/51. 

California Sea Lions were scattered along all CalCOFI lines. There were three sightings of Northern Fur Seals all observed off the shelf on lines 87, 83, and 80.

Week 2

The CalCOFI 0808 Summer (16-30 August) cruise data indicates a strong California Current (CC) as demonstrated by surface temperature anomalies (-1 to -1.8) and salinity (-0.1 to - 0.35) anomalies with the location confirmed by 100m temperature contour map. The CC is strongest 200 to 300 miles off the coast from Pt. Conception and San Diego respectively.  Zooplankton tows have been reported to be about average with higher than average amounts of phytoplankton (as determined by color and consistency) in the area of the California Current.  The Davidson counter current also appears anomalously strong with 10m Temp of +2 deg C common both within 20-40 miles of the coast of San Diego and between 100 and 160 miles off.  This warm water appears to be a lack of upwelling as seen by the prevalent -0.2 salinity anomalies at 10 meter and is seen over a wide area the Southern California Bight.  Chlorophyll values very near shore off San Diego and Avila Beach are 5-6 ug/liter and the highest seen while stations near L.A., Santa Barbara and Pt. Conception were 2-3 ug/liter. 

We conducted acoustic monitoring of marine mammals during the survey towing a 6-element hydrophone array during transits and deployed expendable Navy sonobuoys near stations.  Acoustic monitoring was conducted primarily during daylight hours, concurrent with visual observation by two mammal observers and one bird observer

Bird and mammal sightings seem to be a noticeably lower, although species such as blue whales, porpoise, minke and sperm whales are present, sampling may be low just by the chance nature of observing them along our grid. The cruise has been marked by low species diversity considering the summer season. We have only encountered four dolphin species, five whale species and two pinniped species.

Fin Whales, the most abundant whale sighted, were observed throughout the trackline with the highest density being encountered along line 77. Blue whale sightings were focused along line 90, while Minke sightings were clustered off Palos Verdes.  Finally, Humpbacks were prevalent while transiting between stations approaching Avila Beach.  California Sea Lions were observed along all CalCOFI lines. There were three sightings of Northern Fur Seals all observed off the shelf on lines 87, 83, and 80.

Our thanks go out to Captain Murray Stein and crew for their efficient and expert piloting of the vessel and their pleasant demeanor displayed during the daily routine at sea.  The cooks, Ed Lagrasso and Mark Smith kept the ample scientific party well fed during our long journey, our stomachs go out to them.