REPORTS VOLUME xxv OCTOBER 1984 CAL IFO R NI A COOPERATIVE OCEANIC FISHERIES INVESTIGATIONS Reports VOLUME XXV January 1 to December 31, 1983 Cooperating Agencies: CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SCRIPPS INSTITUTION OF OCEANOGRAPHY NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE EDITOR Julie Olfe This report is not copyrighted, except where otherwise indicated, and may be reproduced in other publications provided credit is given to the California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations and to the au- thor(s). Inquiries concerning this report should be addressed to CalCOFl Coordinator, California Department of Fish and Game, 245 West Broad- way, Suite 350, Long Beach, California 90802. EDITORIAL BOARD lzadore Barrett Herbert Frey Joseph Reid Published October 1984, La Jolla, California CalCOFI Rep., Vol . XXV. 1984 CONTENTS I . Reports. Review. and Publications ........................................................ 5 Report of the CalCOFI Committee for 1983 ............................................. 5 Review of Some California Fisheries for 1983 ........................................... 7 The 1983 Spawning Biomass of the Northern Anchovy . Susan J . Piquelle and Roger P . Hewitt . 16 Publications ....................................................................... 28 I1 . Scientific Contributions ................................................................. 33 Lagrangian Observations of Near-Surface Currents in Canal de Ballenas . Luis G . Alvarez, Antoine Badan-Dangon, and Jose' M . Robles ..................................... : .. 35 Spawning Frequency and Sex Ratio in the Peruvian Anchovy. Engraulis ringens . Juergen Alheit, V. Hugo Alarcdn. and Beverly J . Macewicz ............................ 43 Some Effects of El Nifio 1983 on the Northern Anchovy . Paul C . Fiedler .................... 53 Coastal Front Observations with an Infrared Scanner . David H . Dykstra. Robert S . Grove. andJohn B . Palmer ............................................................. 59 Drift Bottle Observations of the Nearshore Surface Circulation off California, 1977- 1983. Christopher M . Dewees and Elizabeth M . Strange .................................... 68 Determining Chlorophyll on the 1984 CalCOFI Surveys . Elizabeth L . Venrick and Thomas L . Hayward ............................................................. 74 Comparative Quality of Rotifers and Copepods as Foods for Larval Fishes . Guil H . Theilacker andAmy S . Kimball ............................................................. 80 Variation in Larval Morphogenesis within the Southern California Bight Population of Euphausia pacifica from Winter through Summer, 1977-1978. Yargaret D . Knight ......... 87 Spot Prawn (Pandalus platyceros) and Ridgeback Prawn (Sicyonia ingentis) Fisheries in the Santa Barbara Channel . John S . Sunada ....................................... 100 The Feeding Habits of Juvenile-Small Adult Barred Sand Bass (Parulabrax nebulifer) in Nearshore Waters off Northern San Diego County . Dale A . Roberls. Edward E . DeMartini, and Kenneth M . Plummer ..................................... 105 Food and Feeding of Bocaccio ( Sebastes paucispinis) and Comparison with Pacific Hake (Merluccius productus) Larvae in the California Current . Barbara Y . Sumida and H . Geoffrey Moser ......................................... 112 Diel Variation in Catch Parameters for Fishes Sampled by a 7.6-m Otter Trawl in Southern California Coastal Waters . Edward E . DeMartini and Larry G . Allen ............ 119 Estimated Annual Food Consumption by Northern Fur Seals in the California Current . George A . Antonelis. Jr., and Michael A . Perez ...................................... 135 Growth of Jack Mackerel, Trachurus symmetricus, in Captivity . Roderick Leong .............. 146 Instructions to Authors ................................................................. 151 CalCOFI Basic Station Plan .................................................. inside back cover REPORT OF THE CalCOFl COMMITTEE CalCOFI Rep., Vol. XXV, 1984 Part I REPORTS, REVIEW, AND PUBLICATIONS REPORT OF THE CALCOFI COMMITTEE FOR 1983 CalCOFI continued to evolve to new levels during The El Niiio noted in last year’s report has been the last year. The CalCOFI Committee, during a two- watched and studied carefully in the waters off Cali- day retreat to define its goals, agreed that the mission fornia. By October 1982, anomalously high coastal of CalCOFI was to “develop a knowledge of the liv- sea levels, high sea-surface temperatures, and en- ing marine resources and their environment in the hanced inshore poleward flow of the California Coun- waters off the Californias, i.e., to understand the phys- tercurrent were being reported from Baja California to ical and chemical ocean environment and how it British Columbia. By December 1982 even the Gulf of changes with time; to determine productivity of the Alaska was being affected. It was clear that a major El ecosystem; to make information on the biological and Niiio event, at least as strong as that of 1957-58, was physical features of California waters readily available in progress in the California Current. The work of in timely fashion (e.g., publications, conferences, scientists aboard R/V Townsend Cromwell in Febru- data bases). The ultimate goal is to understand and ary 1983 revealed extreme El Nifio conditions off predict the fluctuations in marine populations and to southern California. Nine transects off southern Cali- provide the basis for wise use of resources.” fornia were carried out during the remainder of the Toward the above goals, several opportunities were year by Scripps’s Marine Life Research Group aboard investigated. The Committee began to consider RIV Ellen B. Scripps and R/V New Horizon, with accepting other academic or scientific institutions into additional support from the Office of Naval Research CalCOFI. The Committee also received suggestions and the California Sea Grant College Program. Five for a “CalCOFI-type” investigation of the nearshore other cruises off California were conducted by the areas in an attempt to solve some of the problems Southwest Fisheries Center, La Jolla. Physical, chem- related to inshore resources. Also, a new five-year ical, and biological sampling was done on all these interagency CalCOFI agreement was drafted to re- cruises. All the data, when compared with the ap- place the current one, which will expire in 1984. The propriate long-term monthly CalCOFI mean, con- Committee traveled to Mexico City in February to firmed that the 1982-83 event surpassed the previous meet with representatives of Instituto Nacional de Pes- record holder, the 1957-58 event, in terms of its ca to discuss mutual needs and develop a cooperative effects on the California Current. These effects are agreement. We are optimistic that CalCOFI’s scope still seen in data taken during the 1984 CalCOFI work will continue to expand in the coming months. at sea. The 1983 CalCOFI Conference was held in October Once again Julie Olfe was managing editor for Cal- at ISOMATA in Idyllwild, California, and was COFI Reports. The Committee would like to thank attended by 137 scientists from four countries, repre- her for her continuing excellent work. senting twenty research institutions and two indus- tries. A symposium entitled ‘‘Mesoscale Patterns and Processes” was convened by John McGowan. Fifty The CalCOFI Committee: research papers and ten posters were presented. A Izadore Barrett minisymposium of papers relating to El Niiio was Herbert Frey chaired by George Hemingway. Joseph Reid 5 FISHERIES REVIEW: 1983 CalCOFI Rep., Vol. XXV, 1984 REVIEW OF SOME CALIFORNIA FISHERIES FOR 1983 Total California landings of fishes, crustaceans, and more frequently during 1983 than any other time since mollusks during 1983 have been estimated by the Cali- the moratorium was enacted ten years ago. fornia Department of Fish and Game to have dropped During 1983 an estimated 388 tons of sardines were 25% from the 1982 level and 32% from the average of landed with mackerel. This represents a three-fold in- the past six years. Landings of pelagic wet fishes dur- crease over the incidental catch of sardines in 1982 ing 1983 were almost half that of the previous year and a twelve-fold increase over 1981. In dockside in- (Table 1). terviews, fishermen described increasing occurrences The commercial sector seemed to take the brunt of of sardines mixed with mackerel; several instances of changing oceanographic conditions during 1983, most dumping pure schools of sardines have been reported, notably in poundage: anchovy dropped 90%, squid but are unverified. Sardines were observed by port 89%, salmon 86%, ocean shrimp 74%, Dungeness samplers in mackerel landings during all months of the crab 70%, rockfish 35%, and jack mackerel 30%. The year, and landings of 10 tons or more occurred in all only significant increases in landings were for alba- but three months of the year. In the eight years prior to core, yellowfin tuna, and skipjack. 1982, monthly landings of 10 tons or more of sardines Meanwhile, California’s sportfishing industry occurred only five times. The frequency of occurrence seemed to benefit during 1983 because of the migra- of sardines in observed mackerel landings climbed to tion of more southerly “big game” species into local 30% in 1983, almost double that of the previous year. waters. However, the northern and central California Length frequencies of sardines showed