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Coastal winds transport water masses and larval fish onshore or offshore which may influence estuarine recruitment, yet our understanding of the mechanism underlying this relationship is limited. Here, we combine datasets from a historical database of larval fish off southeast Australia with a high‐resolution atmospheric reanalysis model to show that normalised abundance of coastally spawned larvae increased with weak to moderate upwelling favourable winds 14 days prior to sampling. The increase in abundance may reflect increased nutrient and plankton availability for larval fish. Normalised larval abundance decreased following strong upwelling favourable winds but increased after onshore (downwelling favourable) winds, due to wind‐driven transport. By combining a commercial estuarine fisheries catch‐rate dataset (4 species, 8 estuaries, 10 years) and the high‐resolution atmospheric reanalysis model, we show that negative effects of upwelling favourable winds during the spawning period can be detected in lagged estuarine commercial fisheries catch rates (lagged by 2–8 years depending on species' growth rates), potentially representing the same mechanism proposed for larval fish. Upwelling favourable winds in the southeast Australian region have increased since 1850 while onshore winds have decreased, which may have reduced larval recruitment to estuaries. Coastal winds are likely an important factor for estuarine recruitment in the southeast Australian region and future research on the estuarine recruitment of fish should incorporate coastal winds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding salmonid discharge requirements can help inform management to conserve wild populations in a changing climate. This study developed Bayesian hierarchical mixed‐effects models relating 0+ Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) and trout (Salmotrutta L.) densities to different aspects of river discharge. Associations between these densities and nine hydrological variables representing the magnitude, frequency and duration of discharge events were evaluated using historical monitoring data from 36 sites on five rivers in England and Wales. All hydrological variables had weak associations with 0+ salmonid densities. More frequent high discharges between spawning and emergence were positively and negatively associated with 0+ salmon and trout densities, respectively. High discharges might increase spawning site availability for salmon and decrease egg‐to‐fry survival for trout. However, overall, only equivocal evidence was found regarding which discharge aspects affect juvenile salmonid densities. Therefore, a strategic review of juvenile salmonid monitoring programmes integrating environmental data collection is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]