The California Current LME is an example of a large pelagic ecosystem which has been studied by CalCOFI participants since 1949 .The North Pacific Current feeds into the Alaska Current and the California Current which moves south along the coastline of North America . It then flows far offshore in the Southern California Bight before touching the mainland again in Baja California, Mexico. This LME is adjacent to the Gulf of Alaska LME and the Gulf of California and the Pacific Central-American Coastal LMEs. The main features of the California Current are:
Decadal variation as well as variation during El Niño and La Niña events. See more
High biological productivity (>250 mg C/sq m/day)
Characterized inshore by an extensive kelp ecosystem. Watch the video
Important Californian sardine fishery which collapsed in the 1940s and 50s and has now recovered
Ongoing fisheries for squid, groundfish, tuna and salmonids
Against the backdrop of John Steinbeck's Log from the Sea of Cortez published in 1940, Enric Sala and his colleagues have turned a comprehensive scientific survey into a working model for the Gulf of California conservation that might become a forerunner for similar efforts around the world.
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