Understanding spatial dynamics and migratory behaviours of fish populations is essential for effective fisheries management. We focus on the migratory Atlantic tarpon ( Megalops atlanticus ) to explore how movement strategies and spatial life cycle patterns shape stock dynamics, contingent structure and mechanisms for collapse and recovery. The entrainment hypothesis posits that migratory routes are socially transmitted from e...

2022 marked the third consecutive La Niña and extended the longest consecutive stretch of negative Oceanic Niño Index since 1998-2001. While physical and biological conditions in winter and spring largely adhered to prior La Niña conditions, summer and fall were very different. Similar to past La Niña events, in winter and spring coastal upwelling was either average or above average, temperature average or below average, salin...

Juvenile North Pacific Albacore tuna ( Thunnus alalunga ) support commercial and recreational fisheries in the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem (CCLME), where they forage during summer and fall. The distributions of the commercial and recreational fisheries and estimates of forage availability have varied substantially over the past century. Time‐series quantifying Albacore diet can help link forage composition to var...

In late 2020, models predicted that a strong La Niña would take place for the first time since 2013, and we assessed whether physical and biological indicators in 2021 were similar to past La Niñas in the California Current Ecosystem (CCE). The Pacific Decadal Oscillation and Oceanic Niño Index indeed remained negative throughout 2021; the North Pacific Gyre Oscillation Index, however, remained strongly negative. The seventh l...

The California Current System (CCS) has experienced large fluctuations in environmental conditions in recent years that have dramatically affected the biological community. Here we synthesize remotely sensed, hydrographic, and biological survey data from throughout the CCS in 2019–2020 to evaluate how recent changes in environmental conditions have affected community dynamics at multiple trophic levels. A marine heatwave forme...

Element:Ca ratios in the otolith cores of young‐of‐the‐year (YOY) swordfish, Xiphias gladius , were used as natural tracers to predict the nursery origin of subadult and adult swordfish from three foraging grounds in the North Pacific Ocean (NPO). First, the chemistry of otolith cores (proxy for nursery origin) was used to develop nursery‐specific elemental signatures in YOY swordfish. Sagittal otoliths of YOY swordfish were c...

Blue sharks ( Prionace glauca ) are globally distributed, large-bodied pelagic sharks that make extensive migrations throughout their range. In the North Pacific, mark-recapture studies have shown trans -Pacific migrations, but knowledge gaps in migration frequency hinder understanding of regional connectivity and assessments of regional demography for stock assessments. Here, we use oceanographic gradients of stable isotope r...

In June 2013, a record‐breaking female Isurus oxyrinchus (total length 373 cm, mass 600 kg) was captured by rod and reel off Huntington Beach, California, where it was subsequently donated to research and provided a rare opportunity to collect the first data for a female I. oxyrinchus of this size. Counts of vertebral band pairs estimate the shark to have been c. 22 years old, depending upon assumptions of band‐pair deposition...

Large pelagic predators play important roles in oceanic ecosystems, and may migrate vast distances to utilize resources in different marine ecoregions. Understanding movement patterns of migratory marine animals is critical for effective management, but often challenging, due to the cryptic habitat of pelagic migrators and the difficulty of assessing past movements. Chemical tracers can partially circumvent these challenges by...

Oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) below near‐surface optimums in the eastern tropical seas are among the largest contiguous areas of naturally occurring hypoxia in the world oceans, and are predicted to expand and shoal with global warming. In the eastern tropical Pacific (ETP), the surface mixed layer is defined by a shallow thermocline above a barrier of cold hypoxic water, where dissolved oxygen levels are ≤3.5 mL L −1 . This the...

This study evaluates the performance of two types of non‐offset circle hooks (traditional and non‐traditional) and a similar‐sized ‘J’ hook commonly used in the south Florida recreational live‐bait fishery for Atlantic sailfish, Istiophorus platypterus (Shaw). A total of 766 sailfish were caught off south Florida (Jupiter to Key West, FL, USA) to assess hook performance and drop‐back time, which is the interval between the fis...