Abstract
The Canary Islands are located in the northeast subtropical Atlantic waters and extend from 27°37' to 29°25' N and 18°10' to 13°20' W (Figure 1). The archipelago is composed of seven main islands distributed zonally across the eastern limb of the subtropical gyre of the North Atlantic (Barton et al., 1998).
For many years, the Canary region is described as oligotrophic. However, this area is characterized by a major mesoscale activity. The nearby African coast is cut by capes (Bojador and Jubi) and subject to an upwelling. The interaction between the coastal upwelling regime over the continental shelf and the offshore oceanic regime is highly variable in terms
of biological and physical water characteristics.
