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Council hears California Current ecosystem report, team warns early upwelling kept heat wave offshore
Summary
Council received the California Current Integrated Ecosystem Assessment team’s 2025–26 State of the Ecosystem Report, which shows productive upwelling and abundant forage in many regions but ongoing offshore heat waves, record domoic‑acid events in Southern California and worries about lost diet data and staffing cuts.
The Pacific Fishery Management Council on March 5 reviewed the California Current Integrated Ecosystem Assessment (CCIEA) team’s 2025–26 State of the Ecosystem Report, hearing scientists describe generally productive upwelling last year that helped keep a massive marine heat wave offshore but warned of lingering warm coastal temperatures and regionally severe harmful algal blooms.
CCIEA team lead Dr. Andrew Leising told the council that large‑scale climate indicators—La Niña last year and a negative Pacific Decadal Oscillation—combined with strong coastwide upwelling to support productivity. “Upwelling sort of saved the day,” Leising said, adding that a very large offshore heat wave nonetheless existed and that coastal waters remain unusually warm.
Why it matters: the report mixes encouraging biological signals—high krill and juvenile rockfish abundances noted…
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