March 26, 2026 — Despite a massive marine heatwave that gripped the eastern Pacific through much of 2025, the West Coast marine ecosystem held its own — thanks largely to strong wind-driven upwelling, according to NOAA Fisheries’ annual California Current Ecosystem Status Report.
“Warming continues to be an inescapable reality off the West Coast, but upwelling saved the day,” said Andrew Leising, a research oceanographer at NOAA’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center. The cold, nutrient-rich water pushed to the surface helped keep the ecosystem productive and held heatwave warmth offshore.