Shock as sardines vanish off California - the entire Pacific coast - NOAA: We don’t know why

[RobertEarl]

34. Big Problem with that

Quote:
"Pacific sardine populations fluctuate with water temperature. Colder water means fewer fish. Temperatures last fell in the 1940s, but heavy fishing continued, devastating the stock and ending fishing until sardines returned when waters warmed in the 1980s."

Problem is the NW Pacific is warm. Anomalously warm. Meaning that over about the last 30 years, it is at a warm peak. Satellites tell us this. It is real science. Real time data. So that theory you proposed, that the water is cold and stocks are therefore depleted, is crushed.

Here is a page showing the satellite map of sea surface temperatures anomalies.

http://weather.unisys.com/surface/sfc_daily.php?plot=ssa&inv=0&t=cur

You will note that big orange ball of warm water off the west coast of the US and Canada, eh?

For further edification, if you so desire, check out this wonderfully graphic science concerning the radioactive plume in the Pacific. If you don't want to be startled, do not click.

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pdf of Pacific Transport of Cesium

https://www.pices.int/publications/presentations/PICES-2013/2013-MEQ/MEQ-1700-Smith.pdf