CalCOFI Reports, Vol. 23, 1982 - California Cooperative Oceanic ...

REPORT OF THE CalCOFI COMMITTEECalCOFI Rep., Vol. XXIII, 1982Part IREPORTS, REVIEW, AND PUBLICATIONSREPORT OF THE CALCOFI COMMllTEE FOR 1981With deep regret the CalCOFI Committee reportsthe loss of committee member and long-time friendJohn Radovich of the California Department of Fishand Game. The committee respectfully dedicates thisvolume of the Reports to John, who gave himself unstintinglyto CalCOFI during its formative years. Wehave asked new member Herbert Frey to write amemorial to John; it appears on the preceding page.The year was one of continued evolution in Californiafisheries and marine science, and CalCOFI memberswere active in the scientific aspects of managementas well as in studying the ecology of theCalifornia Current. A major CalCOFI cruise year(seven cruises) was completed with the WV DavidStarr Jordan (NMFS) and the WV New Horizon(SIO), featuring the introduction of a new anchovybiomass assessment technique necessitating nearly athousand vertical plankton tows for anchovy eggs andearly larvae. The “egg production method,” as thisnew technique is called, also required samplingspawning females by trawl. This was accomplished bythe combined efforts of the Jordan and a vessel charteredby the California Department of Fish and Game.Recognizing the potential widespread use of this newtechnique, the Coastal Division of the SouthwestFisheries Center is preparing a handbook on its useand interpretation. During the 1981 cruise year, theegg production method was calibrated with the larvalcensus method, and the results were presented to thePacific Fishery Management Council. This year theCalCOFI cruises added four 48-hour stations, whoseobjectives were to relate the larger-scale patterns ofchlorophyll, productivity, and zooplankton biomass tophysical structure and to compare patchiness of biologicalfeatures on large and small scales.The CalCOFI Conference this year was held at theUniversity of Southern California’s Idyllwild ConferenceCenter and featured the symposium “Reminiscencesof California Fishery Research and Manage-ment. ” Besides the six symposium papers reprinted inthis volume, forty-three additional papers were presented.A round table discussion on the state ofCalifornia fisheries was chaired by Herbert Frey ofCalifornia Department of Fish and Game. A plenarysession with the Eastern Pacific Oceanic Conference(EPOC) highlighted the last day of the meeting; Cal-COFI Coordinator Reuben Lasker presented an overviewof present and future CalCOFI activities toEPOC participants.The CalCOFI committee has continued to pursue anintrospective course in this year of shrinking budgetsand greater demand for resources. The future of Cal-COFI continues to be of concern. Thus letters weresent to a large list of “friends of CalCOFI” solicitingtheir comments on what they think the future activitiesof CalCOFI should be. Almost a hundred correspondentsreplied, and we are in the process of consideringeach suggestion.In 1981 we published CalCOFI Atlas No. 29: Teleconnectionsof 700 mb Height Anomalies for theNorthern Hemisphere, by Jerome Namias. No. 30 ishaving its final artist’s review at this writing; it isVertical and Horizontal Distribution of SeasonalMean Temperature, Salinity, Sigma-t, Stability,Dynamic Height, Oxygen and Oxygen Saturation,1950-1 978 in the California Current, by RonaldLynn, Kenneth Bliss, and Lawrence Eber of theSouthwest Fisheries Center. Abraham Fleminger is theeditor of the Atlas series.The reviewers and editorial staff of this volume,particularly Julie Olfe, are to be congratulated for theirexcellent work.The CalCOFI CommitteeIzadore BarrettHerbert FreyJoseph Reid7