In situ measurements of surface chlorophyll and zooplankton concentration are compared with in situ hydrographic measurements and infrared satellite images of the west coast of British Columbia for early winter and midsummer study periods. Maximum winter cencentrations of chlorophyll (1.0 mg m-3) and zooplankton (2900 counts m-3) were found in colder, more stratified nearshore water. Warmer water over the middle and outer shell consistently had the lowest chlorophyll and zooplankton concentrations (20.0 mg m-3) coincided with intermediate temperatures around the edge of an upwelling frontal zone with lower concentrations (≈5.0 mg m-3) in the coldest, most recently upwelled water. A least squares fit nonlinear equation showed that satellite-measured surface temperature patterns explained 72% of the loge transformed chlorophyll variance. In contrast with the above relationship, summer zooplankton concentrations were not consistently related to satellite temperature patterns. While peaks showed a qualitative association with higher chlorophyll concentrations at the outer edge of the upwelling area, surface temperature was a poor predictor of zooplankton concentration over the study area as a whole. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1988