Data

California MOCI

(Multivariate Ocean Climate Index)

MOCI is a 30-year long indicator that synthesizes a number of local and regional ocean and atmospheric conditions that represent, in a holistic manner, the state of the California coastal ocean. MOCI includes data that is readily available from the Internet so the indicator can be updated and shared regularly via this website.

MOCI captures ENSO events across decades, as well as the intensity and phasing of the most recent North Pacific marine heat wave, dubbed 'The Blob'. It also shows differences in the magnitude and timing of ocean climate variability in different regions off California. MOCI has skill relative to marine ecosystem dynamics from zooplankton to top predators, and therefore may be important to ecosystem-based fisheries and wildlife management.

Last season’s MOCI (winter 2024) values went down slightly in Central and Northern California and declined in Southern California, so it is no longer anomalously positive. To access the current MOCI data (January-March, 2024), click below.

MOCI

Northern Anchovy biomass

Long-term biomass estimates for the central stock of northern anchovy (CSNA; Engraulis mordax) in the California Current Ecosystem are estimated from geospatial weighting of egg and larval data from winter/spring California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) surveys (1951–2021). This is important, to avoid bias due to the nearshore concentration of CalCOFI sampling stations and the anchovy population tendency to contract into that area when abundances are low. While based on the core CalCOFI sampling area, estimates include the entire range of the CSNA, from northwestern Baja California, Mexico, to north of Point Reyes, California, and nearshore waters.

See MacCall et al. (2016) and Thayer et al. (2017) for complete details of methodology and justifications. Biomass estimates have been calculated through 2021 (Thayer et al. 2022), and as new survey data become available estimates are updated regularly (see Anchovy Biomass Estimates).

Alcatraz seabird monitoring

Farallon Institute monitors population size, breeding phenology, and productivity of seabirds (Brandt's cormorant and western gull) on Alcatraz Island from approximately March-September. Nests are monitored twice a week. Additionally, we also monitor disturbances to the breeding areas since Alcatraz Island is heavily visited by people, including a separate monitoring study during the 4th of July fireworks event.

Alcatraz Island is an important breeding colony for these seabirds. It is one of only two estuarine colonies for Brandt's cormorants, and it is the the largest colony of western gulls in San Francisco Bay. Though it is an important natural resource in the bay habitat, Alcatraz also is one of the most significant historical places in San Francisco; more than 1 million visitors tour the island annually. The island is delicately managed by the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and National Park Service to balance use and conservation.

Farallon Institute produces reports each year to describe and summarize monitoring results. These reports are freely available-- please email Julie Thayer.

Alcatraz Monitoring Project Page

Seabird at-sea surveys

Farallon Institute conducts seasonal at-sea surveys of seabirds on the CalCOFI (California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigation) survey grid (above) and on the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Rockfish Recruitment and Ecosystem Assessment Survey (RREAS) offshore of California and Oregon. These surveys are an integral part of the CalCOFI Long-term Ecological Research (LTER) and Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System (SCCOOS) programs. FI and other agencies have been collecting these observations since 1987 and these extensive observations, along with concurrently collected hydrographic and plankton data, contribute to understanding the effects of climate variability and change in the southern California Current Ecosystem.

Most at-sea surveys in 2020 were cancelled due to the covid-19 pandemic.

See this ERDDAP for raw data download.

CalCOFI survey reports:

Rockfish Recruitment and Ecosystem Assessment Survey (RREAS) reports: