The California Current System is one of the best studied ocean regions of the world, and the level of oceanographic information available is perhaps only surpassed by the northeast and northwest Atlantic.  The current literature (later than 1993) offers no comprehensive, integrated review ofthe regional fisheries oceanography of the California Current System.

This volume summarizes information of more than 60-year California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigation (CalCOFI). While providing a large bibliography, the intent was to extract themes relevant to current research rather than to prepare a compendious review of the literature.

The work presents a useful review and reference point for multidisciplinary fisheries scientists and biological oceanographers new to working in the California Current System, and to specialists wishing to access information outside their core areas of expertise. In addition it aims to deliver an up to date reference to the current state of knowledge of fisheries oceanography in the California Current System.

Sam McClatchies research interests are: Variability and spatio-temporal trends of pelagic resources in relation to their environment. Relationships between small-scale and mesoscale process and pelagic biota. Food webs. For more information please visit: http://www.fishocean.info/

Chapter 1. Introduction to the fisheries and the surveys.- Chapter 2. Oceanography of the southern California Current System relevant to fisheries.- Chapter 3. Classic CalCOFI.- Chapter 4. Scales of variability relevant to fisheries in the southern California Current System.- Chapter 5. Insights for fisheries from experimental and predation studies.- Chapter 6. Fisheries stock assessment, environmental variability, and CalCOFI Chapter 7. The new CalCOFI and fisheries.- Chapter 8. Perspectives on CalCOFI.