FYI El Nino and Japanese Current

[corkyking]

All the talk about tuna fishing has caused me to recall that in the last El Nino event the Japanese Current (or ,as it turns out, what I thought was the Japanese current) was real close to the coast.

I remember that the fishermen were running just a few miles to get to the tuna grounds and a Marlin was (or was it a sailfish?) caught a short way out of Westport. Salmon fishing wasn't so hot and I was catching Mackerel off the beach.

Anyway I thought I'd drop a line to NOAA and ask them waht they thought:

The current El Nino is much weaker than the one that we experienced in 1997-98. Consequently,
many of the impacts are weaker.
The warmth along the Wesy Coast that is experienced during most El Nino episodes results from
regional atmospheric circulation changes, not from the Japanese current. During El Nino there is
generally more southwesterly flow into the West Coast that reduces the upwelling of cold oceanic water
from the deep ocean to the surface. During the current El Nino, there have only been a few rather
short periods during which there has been strong southwesterly flow. Thus, we have not observed any
significant warming as yet along the coast. Given that the El Nino is weakening quite rapdily, it is
unlikely that this event will strongly impact water temperatures along the West Coast.

Vern Kousky, NOAA/Climate Prediction Center

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[Re:Play]

Thanks for the post. I think it was the El Nino in 92-93 that we caught 20 mackeral salmon fishing around the CR buoy one day, and not as many salmon. The ocean temp was 70 degrees that day, and the mouth of the Columbia was 65 degrees. This year it was 55 degrees around the CR bouy.

Glad to hear the El Nino is not as strong this time.

[Pilar]

The NW wind and the upwelling it causes are like a refrigeration system for the ocean during the summer.

This winds blows hard (30+ kts) from May to July most years and is responsible for the incredible productivity of our offshore waters.

No wind means no refridgeration and nearshore ocean temperatures can climb into the 60's and in extreme cases to the 70's.

In the last 'event' (1998?) I crabbed at Tillamook S. Jetty in crystal clear (plankton free) green water 30 feet deep. The ocean temp was 71 degrees a mile south of the jetties and I could see the bottom 30 feet down. That same year about a dozen striped Marlin were landed by TUNA! charters out of Westport, Wa and Dorado caught on the south Oregon coast. That same year I caught 2 mackeral in the Ghost hole trolling plugged herring.

[Mr. Fisherman]

:grin: :grin:
Muhahaha
:grin: :grin:

[Sensei-san]

To hell with the bloody stinkin' tuna.....

I want mahi-mahi!!!!

[fishwhenican]

Speaking of mahi-mahi, I was thinking of doing a 2 week trip to the Baja June 20- July 3rd camper and boat

Any other interested parties, road trip anyone???
:grin:

[Albacore Tuna Captain]

I know that the El Nino causes some changes in the fishing of both salmon and tttuna, but I think it only causes changes as to where you find them. Last year was a good example of this. Not a El Nino year, yet I consistently was catching tuna within 25 miles of Newport and in fact, in July last year, I caught 25 albies only 17 miles northwest of the north Jetting just inside of the Bananna. Doug Hiema was with me on that trip and he will be at the March 15th gathering so he can relate the story. Also, the Marlin are always there if Albacore are. I saw one almost every trip last year. So if Westport is landing them all the time, howcome we don't?

I have talked to some old timers and they say that back in the forty's there was a Marlin fishing effort out of Coos Bay. Does anybody have any info on that? Sure would like to know cuz that could really be a neat thing to develope.

[OceanBlue]

ATC: We're all over it! Pilar and I have been obsessed with the idea since July 7 last year when we saw a striped marlin 25mi off Depoe Bay. Then in Oct. Ugly Green went and caught himself a 100+ lb bluefin.

YES! There are other fisheries to develop.

We're after swordfish, too.

If folks have successfully fished them here, they're seriously quiet about it! I have a feeling that some methods applied elsewhere might work here, but I think we're going to have to go through a little trial and error and hope for a little luck to see what works consistently well here.

[Sensei-san]

ATC, I doubt that there was a "marlin" fishery out of Coos Bay. I suspect that it was a harpoon swordfish fishery. It is easy to harpoon basking swordfish on the surface. In the old days when swordfish were plentiful and large they would sun on the surface for hours just like Oregon Albacore do.

You probably have had San Diego fishermen comment on how the albacore smile and wave at you as you troll by in the morning as they pod up on the surface.

With the old slow wooden fishing boats with relatively quiet one lungers I imagine you could easily troll up to a swordfish.

As you and I know marlin taste like... $#!& well marlin. So a fishery for them probably won't last long. And it takes high speed boats to troll for them. I doubt that the old fishing fleet could do more than six knots.

Swordfish feed on squid. And there are a lot of Humboldt or Giant Squid off Oregon. As your partner Robbie knows, years ago there was considerable research in developing a commercial fishery for them.

There is a picture in the Douglas County Natural History Museum of "billfish" on the docks in Coos Bay. I have not seen it yet and plan to check it out someday when I am in Roseburg.

If you study the ocean current patterns, there is a predictable warm water eddy off Cape Blanco that forms year after year. I suspect that the "marlin" fishermen probably fished the eddy for the "marlin".

This is the same phenomena that makes for the late season salmon fishery off Port Orford but in reverse.