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1945
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550,000 metric tons of sardines caught off California coast, more than any other fish catch in North America. There are
24 canneries along Monterey’s Ocean View Avenue, later renamed Cannery Row.
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1946
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1947
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Sardine fishery falls to 100,000 metric tons. Fishing industry imposes tax on catch to support research on causes of
population failure.
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1948
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1949
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A collaboration established to investigate the sardine fishery’s collapse; participants include Scripps Institution of
Oceanography, the California Academy of Science, the Stanford Hopkins Marine Station at Monterey, the NOAA/NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science Center, and the California Department of Fish and Game.
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1950
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1951
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1952
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1953
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The collaboration officially named the California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI).
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1954
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1955
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1956
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1957
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Ocean off California warms by 2 degrees C, causing anomalies in precipitation, plankton abundance, and fisheries.
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1958
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Oceanographers, fisheries personnel, meteorologists conclude that understanding and forecasting of fluctuations in
coastal fisheries are best achieved by studying the entire ocean and ocean-atmosphere relationships.
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1959
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1960
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Approach to sardine question becomes more interdisciplinary and ecosystem-based.
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1961
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1962
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1963
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First volume of CalCOFI atlas series describes temperature and salinity in the California Current. Subsequent volumes summarize
the distribution of zooplankton biomass, seasonal sea-level pressure patterns, and drift bottle results.
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1964
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Sardine spawning biomass at 30,000 metric tons is one percent of the spawning biomass in 1938. State legislature enacts fishery
moratorium.
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1965
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1966
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1967
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1968
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1969
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By counting fish scales taken from sediment cores off Santa Barbara, CalCOFI scientists are able to reconstruct an 1800 year record
that shows sardines follow a cycle of decline and recovery about every 80 years.
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1970
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1971
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1972
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Sardine spawning biomass minimum at less than 10,000 metric tons.
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1973
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1974
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1975
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1976
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1977
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Researchers observe interdecadal (long-term) changes in sea-surface temperature, ocean circulation, and climate.
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1978
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CalCOFI gets new research vessel when R/V New Horizon joins fleet.
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1979
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Egg-production method for estimating biomass introduced by SWFSC.
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1980
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1981
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1982
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Large anomalies of temperature and zooplankton biomass in the CalCOFI data first linked to tropical El Niño phenomena.
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1983
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A quick-response study of the 1983-1984 El Niño makes it one of the most thoroughly documented El Niño events to date.
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1984
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1985
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CalCOFI reduces spatial coverage to increase to quarterly cruises. Sardine spawning biomass reaches 30,000 metric tons,
highest since 1964.
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1986
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1987
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1988
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1989
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CalCOFI data used to test satellite-derived estimates of chlorophyll and primary production.
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1990
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1991
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1992
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1993
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1994
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1995
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Sardine spawning biomass reaches 300,000 metric tons, highest since 1954.
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70% decline in zooplankton reported in the California current. May be related to interdecadal shifts of the mid-1970s.
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1996
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1997
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Climate models forecast large El Niño, and monthly CalCOFI cruises are scheduled to study its effects.
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1998
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Significant data are compiled on consequences of El Niño to nutrient, chlorophyll, and zooplankton patterns in the California
Current, providing a close look at links between ocean physics and biology.
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1999
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Spawning biomass of sardines exceeds 1 million metric tons for the first time since the CalCOFI surveys began in 1951.
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Spawning biomass is an estimate of fish population based on a sample of fish eggs and plankton eggs. A total catch should be a
fraction of spawning biomass so that sufficient adults survive to reproduce.
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