The California Current Ecosystem is one of the world’s four eastern boundary current ecosystems, which are characterized by high productivity, climatic variability, and high biodiversity.  NOAA Fisheries is proud of our regional partnerships supporting collaborative and ecosystem-based decision making, and of our agency’s pioneering scientific work on the California Current Ecosystem.

Ecosystem Science

NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker and Saildrone off the coast of California. Photo: NOAA

NOAA Fisheries’ Northwest and Southwest Fisheries Science Centers support our partners and the West Coast Region with an array of ongoing science programs and projects exploring the California Current Ecosystem.

California Current Integrated Ecosystem Assessment

Ecosystem Indicator Status and Trends

Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management

Juvenile rockfish on Cordell Bank. Photo: NOAA.

NOAA Fisheries’ West Coast Region works with our agency colleagues around the country to develop nationwide policies on ecosystem-based fisheries management and to implement those policies through regional planning efforts.

Western Regional Implementation Plan for Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management

Ecosystems Science and Management at NOAA Fisheries

Pacific Fishery Management Council Partnership

Handline fishing albacore off the California coast. Photo: NOAA.

We partner with the Pacific Fishery Management Council and western states and tribes to implement ecosystem-based fisheries management off the U.S. West Coast.

Pacific Coast Fishery Ecosystem Plan

Featured News

NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker at sea. 

Now the longest-running ocean monitoring program on the planet, California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations provides 70 years of data and discoveries to help us better manage our West Coast fisheries. Kristen Koch, director of the Southwest Fisheries Science Center, explains why this survey is so important to our coastal communities.

California Ecosystem Surveys Give Insight on Ocean Changes to Come