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Research Shows Wind Causes Fish Population Declines

Scripps Institution of Oceanography researchers say wind is the force behind big swings in fish populations off California's coast. The study is the first to connect changes in climate to fish populat

Research Shows Wind Causes Fish Population Declines

Scripps Institution of Oceanography researchers say wind is the force behind big swings in fish populations off California's coast. The study is the first to connect changes in climate to fish populations. KPBS Reporter Ed Joyce has details.

Scripps researcher Ryan Rykaczewski and Scripps Professor David Checkley studied why California's sardine industry crashed in the 1940s. Rykaczewski says the findings may be used to predict fish populations using climate change and wind factors. He says that could help manage today's commercial fishing industry.

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Rykaczewski: And inform the fishermen in the fishing industry about when might be a good time to harvest and when you really don't want to harvest them because the fish stock is going to collapse and we need to give them all the chance they can to recover.

In the past it was suspected that overfishing was the main cause for the collapse of fisheries. He says before this study, there's been little scientific support for a mechanism connecting changes in climate to changes in fish populations.

Ed Joyce, KPBS News.