We have developed a series of web pages to provide information on an important topic in fisheries science, the influence of climate on fish populations and fisheries. In order to maintain and rebuild sustainable fisheries, we need to understand how the populations of some species are influenced by both short term and long term changes in the climate and adjust our estimates of optimal sustainable yield when conditions change. These web pages bring together information on the response of pelagic fish to El Niños, the differing response of salmon in Alaska and Oregon to decadal scale North Pacific warming, and theories of how global warming may affect our fisheries.

Previously there was no unified presentation of the effects of climate variability of different time scales on fisheries. There are good web pages on the El Niño events and some on global climate change, but it is difficult to find material relating these phenomena to fisheries. PFEL’s many years of experience exploring the relationship of variations in climate to fisheries led us to develop such a site. Please note that this site is new and we solicite you comments for improvements.

This web site provides the public with easily understood, up to date information on how climate variability affects fisheries. It provides background information and illustrations on the components of climate and what is meant by climate variability as well as references to important journal articles and links to related web sites.

The Pacific Fisheries Environmental Laboratory (PFEL) is a research unit of the National Marine Fisheries Service's Southwest Fisheries Science Center. Formerly called the Pacific Fisheries Environmental Group (PFEG), it was formed in 1969 to develop data bases and to conduct research on fishery-related effects of natural environmental variability over a broad range of scientific, management, and operational concerns of the government and the fishing industry of the United States. In addition to its research mission, PFEL distibutes environmental index products and time series data bases to cooperating researchers, taking advantage of its long association with the U.S. Navy's Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center.