“The original purpose of the program was to look at the distribution and abundance of sardine eggs and larvae. Gradually that became the distribution of all larval fish, and much more,” says McGowan, explaining how CalCOFI’s scope has broadened over the last half century. But, from the beginning of the program, researchers knew that the sardine could not be studied in isolation from its physical, chemical, and biological environments.

In 1958 CalCOFI scientists held a symposium on “The Changing Pacific Ocean in 1957 and 1958,” attended by oceanographers, fisheries personnel, and meteorologists. Following the symposium the program’s approach to the sardine question became more interdisciplinary and ecosystem-based. Fluctuations in fisheries yields could be understood only by studying the links between the ocean and the atmosphere and the variability of these systems within different scales of time and space.

The symposium focused on 1957 and 1958, a two-year period of fluctuation that is now known to have been an unusually strong El Niño event. During this time researchers observed anomalies in precipitation and fish stocks caused by rising ocean temperatures. Though the Pacific Ocean warmed by just 2°C, this increase caused dramatic changes. Hawaii had its first recorded typhoon. Seabirds died off the Peruvian coast. Along the Pacific’s western rim, the tropical rainy season lingered six weeks beyond its normal term.


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