The Fisheries-Oceanography Coordinated Investigations (FOCI) program
was established by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
in 1984 to examine the physical and biological factors that affect the walleye
pollock fishery in Alaska. Walleye pollock is one of the world's largest
single-species fisheries with catches in 
Alaska annually exceeding 1 million metric
tons. Understanding the dynamics of fish populations requires cooperative
research among scientists from many different disciplines. In particular,
studies in fisheries oceanography focus on the relationships between variations
in fish populations and the marine environment. For example, pollock have
a specific niche in the food chain.
Since the program was first implemented, FOCI scientists have identified
substantial variations in the natural processes 
of the
Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea that affect the survival of young walleye
pollock during their early life history stages before entering the fishery
(recruitment). These variations include biological factors such as starvation
and predation and physical factors such as climate, wind, and ocean current
circulation.
Marked interannual variations in temperature, transport of planktonic
stages, and turbulence can influence both the survival of young stages 
of
fish as well as the distribution of juveniles and adults. Understanding
these variations requires knowledge of the life histories of other organisms
throughout the food web, their interrelationship with walleye pollock, and
the impact that interrelationship has on the ecosystems in which they coexist.
A
major goal of FOCI is to understand natural changes in the abundance of
walleye pollock and to provide this information to fishery managers. FOCI
scientists realize this goal by integrating field, laboratory, and modeling
studies to determine how biological and physical environmental factors influence
walleye pollock in Alaska.