Summer wind data collected at Barter Island, Alaska, were compared with commercial fishery catches of arctic cisco (Coregonus autumnalis) at the Colville River, Alaska [USA], for the period 1967-85. There was a significant (p=0.036) association between yearly catch-per-unit-effort and the percent of easterly winds after adjusting for a 5-yr differential in the two times series. Results suggest that young-of-the-year fish which spawn in Canada''s Mackenzie River are aided in their westward dispersal into Alaskan waters via wind-driven longshore currents. The greater the prevalence of easterly winds (westerly currents), the greater the recruitment. Increased recruitment manifests itself as an increase in Alaskan commercial fishery catch some 5-yr later when fish have grown to a size that renders them susceptible to commercial nets.