Sub-regional ecosystem variability in the Canary Current upwelling

The Canary Current upwelling ecosystem (CanC) constitutes one of the four main eastern boundary upwelling ecosystems (EBUEs) of the world, thus hosting high productivity and fisheries. Recent observations indicate that the CanC region as a whole has been experiencing a progressive warming and a decrease in productivity over the last decades. This overall trend is however not directly reflected in the fisheries of the region. Here we update recent results and previous reviews on the CanC, covering aspects from the physical environment to fish populations and fisheries on a range of time scales. We approach these topics, when possible, through a comparative exploration of the biogeographical characteristics of different sub-regions comprising this ecosystem. This review shows that variability in coastline configuration, shelf width, coastal upwelling, nutrient fertilization, productivity, or retentive vs. dispersive physical mechanisms, among other factors, may help explain sub-regional differences in fish distributions and abundances in the CanC. Nevertheless, the lack of systematic information on the regional variability of physical and biological processes hampers an integrated understanding of the relative contribution of natural vs. human-induced variability in the populations of at least small-pelagic fishes and their associated fisheries. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.