"According to NOAA's El NinoWatch Advisory for January, tropical El Nino conditions continued strong though January along the U.S. west coast, with sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies similar to those observed in December. The SSTs were 4 to 5 degrees F above normal off northern California and over 5 degrees F above normal off San Francisco and Southern California, and +3 to 4 degrees F above normal off the Pacific Northwest. These warm waters also go deep--60% deeper than the seasonal norm in certain areas. Researchers on the CalCOFI survey that returned February 14 observed exceptionally low abundances of zooplankton, little or no evidence of upwelling, and high water clarity except in areas muddied by heavy rains. This general low productivity and depressed level of forage is expected to have a detrimental effect on survival of winter- and late spring-spawning fishes, and the deep surface mixed layer may have a strong negative impact upon rockfishes and the survival of pinniped pups."--Susan Smith <Susan.Smith@noaa.gov>