State of the Pacific Ocean 2011

Summary

This report summarizes the thirteenth annual workshop on the state of physical, biological, and selected fishery resources of Canadian Pacific marine ecosystems. The region supports important resident and migratory populations of invertebrates, groundfish and pelagic fishes,marine mammals and seabirds. Monitoring the physical and biological oceanographic conditions and fishery resources of the Pacific Region is done semi-regularly by scientific staff in several government departments, to understand the natural variability of these ecosystems and how they respond to both natural and anthropogenic stresses. Support for these programs is provided by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Environment Canada, Parks Canada and various other agencies. Additional information is provided by the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), University of Victoria, Simon Fraser University, and the University of British Columbia.

Information for this report was presented at the annual meeting of the Fisheries Oceanography Working Group (FOWG) in Nanaimo, BC, on Feb. 15 to 16, 2012 chaired by Jim Irvine and Bill Crawford, both of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. This summary report is based on contributions by participants.

— Excerpt from the report