Ocean Views: A Note From the Not-so-New SIO CalCOFI Director

As the not-so-new director of the CalCOFI monitoring program at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, I’ve been thinking a lot about what CalCOFI is today versus what it needs to become. As the oldest ocean monitoring program in the nation, we have a treasure trove of samples and data that goes back 77 years. We have prioritized improving data accessibility and integration of data sets so that researchers and resource managers can better use our data. To that end, SIO Vice Chancellor and Director Meena Wadhwa has generously funded the implementation of a data base management plan that was developed by Erin Satterthwaite and numerous others. Also, we developed a communications plan for CalCOFI that will guide and improve our communications efforts to a larger range of stakeholders, including resource managers, the fishing community, and members of the legislature. And we are working with Lucy Mays and her SIO web team to modernize our website to improve navigation and accessibility for all. We are taking a hard look at monitoring program expansion by potentially adding new parameters like eDNA and microplastics. Also, we’d like to expand our Dissolved Inorganic Carbon measurements closer to shore because of the importance of the data in determining ocean acidification impacts in California’s state waters. Also, we have a tremendous backlog of samples from Manta trawls that need analyses for zooplankton. And there are so many analyses that can be expanded utilizing our decades of samples to see how biological assemblages and fishery species abundances have changed over time in conjunction with climate change and other stressors. 

In the big picture, in order to better inform decision makers, California needs a comprehensive monitoring program with standardized sampling, analysis, data submission, and data management procedures in order to better compare and synthesize data streams. And all of this data should be managed or easily accessed in one or two places. Currently, there are dozens of monitoring programs from NOAA, CalCOFI, academia, dischargers, and NGOs, yet the data from these programs is often not accessible or comparable across data streams. In addition, there are large gaps in monitoring that range from spatial (not as much coverage in parts of central and northern California or at depths below 500m) to temporal (not much monitoring during peak OAH times of year) to parameters (eDNA, microplastics, and numerous chemicals of emerging concern) that should be covered in a comprehensive ocean monitoring program. Both the OPC and the Water Quality Monitoring Council have expressed the importance of having such a comprehensive monitoring program for California. 

However, none of this can occur without significant additional financial resources, and we all know how challenging it is to find and retain funding during these times. But this is a challenge we have to overcome to strengthen CalCOFI. After all, CalCOFI data has been used in over 10,000 scientific papers and has averaged being used in over 300 research papers a year over the last few years. And our monitoring data is used for fisheries management, physical and biogeochemical modeling, ocean acidification and hypoxia and marine heat wave impact analyses, harmful algal bloom tracking, assessing sea surface temperature impacts on biological resources, calculating changes in cetacean and sea bird populations, El Niño and La Niña impacts on physical, chemical, and biological parameters, and so much more. 

The full extent of CalCOFI’s influence on understanding the California Current Ecosystem was on full display at the biennial CalCOFI conference last week: A Decade of Remarkable Change: Heatwaves, HABs, Hypoxia, and Other Ocean Changes off the California coast. Nearly 50 scientists and resource managers spoke on a wide variety of technical issues to nearly 200 people in person and even more watching online. There were numerous highlights of the proceedings, including inspirational opening keynotes from SIO Director Meena Wadhwa and the Director of the State Lands Commission, Matt Dumlao. The opening keynote was delivered by Evan Howell, the NOAA deputy assistant administrator for scientific program, and he provided a very candid assessment of NOAA priorities including marine survey modernization, utilization of AI and other tools to better analyze observation datasets – both old and new (like eDNA and advanced acoustics measurements), and the need for open and transparent, cloud-based data management to provide users with accurate data and data products quickly. Highlights of the scientific presentations included: a session on marine heat waves and their impacts on fisheries with Andy Leising and Andrew Thompson from NOAA and Rasmus Swalethorpe from SIO; keynote presentations from Simone Alin from NOAA PMEL on OAH measurements in the CCE, Clarissa Anderson from SCCOOS on HABs off of California, and Diana Lin from SFEI on microplastics monitoring in the state; lightning talks from a wide variety of scientists including students from Mexico and a number of UCs; and a closing panel with Kristen Koch, Director of the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center, long-time fisherman and ocean steward, Dick Ogg, OPC’s Kyla Kelly, the State Water Board’s Kat Faick, and Ryan Bartling from CDFW. Other noteworthy talks included Moira Decima sharing research on the impacts of ocean acidification on pteropod shell dissolution and a summary talk from Lihini Aluwihare on extensive research efforts on the DDT waste dumped in the San Pedro basin from the 1940s to the 1960s. Their presentations, discussion, and responses to audience questions provided insights on everything from fisheries management to ocean acidification and HABs to adaptive management of the Dungeness Crab fishery by using SCCOOS, ACCESS, and CalCOFI data. 

Overall, the conference was a big success. Everyone who attended and gave presentations remarked on the quality of the presentations and the opportunity to learn from and network with colleagues. Special thanks go to Erin Satterthwaite for chairing the conference, handling all of the logistics, and shaping the agenda. Also, thanks to Noelle Bowlin for doing far more than hosting the conference and chairing sessions. And thanks to the CalCOFI conference committee, volunteers, and SIO event staff for everything they did to make the conference a big success.