Project: Building the Foundation in N. California Current Shelf-Slope-Oceanic Ecosystems

Bi-weekly observations of phytoplankton, zooplankton, ichthyoplankton and krill have been made in continental shelf and slope waters off Oregon and northern California since 1996. In addition, the distribution and abundance of juvenile salmonids has been studied from pelagic trawl surveys made in coastal waters off Washington and Oregon in May, June and September since 1998. Data from these cruises are used to produce qualitative ecosystem indicators that forecast the survival of several stocks of Pacific salmon that return to both the coastal rivers in Oregon and Washington as well as the more extensive Columbia, Klamath and Sacramento Rivers. All information is on the web at http://www.noaa.gov (see Data Products and Tools). This year the utility and accuracy of these ecosystem indicators and forecasts was shown by their successful prediction of the collapse of salmon stocks. The collapse was so severe that the salmon fishery is now closed along the coasts of California and Oregon, creating great economic hardship. Because of these forecasting activities, contributions are already being made by us towards the overall CAMEO objective "to strengthen the scientific basis for an ecosystem approach to stewardship of ocean and coastal resources and ecosystems". Following guidance presented in the CAMEO Request for Proposals (RFP), contributions will be made to the following general goals and objectives: 1. Provide decision support tools that will better enable an ecosystem approach to ocean and coastal ecosystem management; 2. Perform comparative analyses that lead to a better understanding of mechanisms underlying ecosystem responses which in turn will translate into better predictive tools.