Mean near-surface conditions for the Strait of Georgia since 2015.  This figure summarizes thousands of stations, the combined efforts of dozens of people over many years.

Note in particular the 2^nd row, which shows the seasonal and inter-annual changes in the the biomass of primary producers (phytoplankton) in the Strait, the ultimate source of organic material for all animal life in the Strait.  Sometime during March/April in each year the spring phytoplankton bloom occurs and the biomass increases tremendously before exhausting the immediately available nutrients. Since this very important event sometimes occurs between sampling times, or earlier than sampling occurred in some years, red markers are show to indicate the bloom time as estimated from continuous measurements of near-surface Chlorophyll from BC ferries.