668 



Fishery Bulletin 102(4) 



March 1993, 1994, 1995 



120VJ n9*w 



October 1995, 1996, 1997 



120°W 119°W 



October 1998, 1999, 2000 



120°W 119°W 



March 1999, 2000 



119°W 



Figure 5 



Location of fishing activity, as indicated by black areas, for the early ( October i and 

 late (March l parts of the traditional squid fishing season in the Southern California 

 Bight. 1992-2000. For each month, a multiyear composite image is shown. (A) October 

 1992, 1993. 1994. (Bi March 1993. 1994, 1995. (Cl October 1995, 1996, 1997. (Dl 

 March 1996, 1997, 1998. (E) October 1998, 1999. (F) March 1999, 2000. 



in the Southern California Bight was reduced during 

 the 1997-98 El Nino (Hay ward, 2000). It is not known 

 how market squid adults respond to changes in water 

 temperature or turbidity, or whether spawning fish shift 

 to other habitats during El Nino events. 



A strong El Nino event can also alter feeding and 

 developmental conditions for squid. During the 1997-98 

 El Nino, macrozooplankton abundance substantially 

 decreased in the Southern California Bight and off 

 Baja California (Lynn et al., 1998; Hayward, 2000; La- 

 vaniegos et al., 2002). Food availability affects growth 

 rates of loligind squid (Jackson and Moltschaniwskyj, 

 2001). Recently, Jackson and Domeier (2003) indicated 

 lower growth rates for the market squid in the Southern 

 California Bight during the 1997-98 El Nino. 



In the present study, fishing effort following the 

 1997-98 El Nino was generally below pre-El Nino lev- 

 els. The subsequent high levels of catch in late 1999 



and early 2000 may indicate that squid were in great 

 abundance, thereby requiring less overall catch effort 

 to meet market demand. A strong La Nina succeeded 

 the 1997-98 El Nino (Lynn and Bograd. 2002; Schwing 

 et al., 2002), with strong upwelling and high macrozoo- 

 plankton abundance in the Southern California Bight 

 by spring 1999 (Schwing et al., 2000; Hayward, 2000). 

 Indeed, the high LPUE in the present study in late 1999 

 and early 2000 points to increased squid abundance in 

 response to a more productive environment. Alterna- 

 tively, one could argue that increased fishing efficiency. 

 not increased squid abundance, resulted in high LPUE. 

 One manifestation of higher fishing efficiency could be 

 a contracted fishing range, where especially productive 

 pockets are identified and targeted. An overall com- 

 parison of fishing location in October and March before 

 and after El Nino did not support this explanation: the 

 total spatial extent of fishing activity was not greatly 



