Abstract Ecosystem models, used mainly in studying the interactions between different trophic levels, can also be used for ocean circulation model skill assessment, with the help of satellite ocean color data. This paper presents how the use of a simple NPZ primary productivity ecosystem model, coupled to a hydrodynamical model, can help assessing the skill of the physical ocean model in depicting realistically the prevailing mesoscale features of the upper layers of the Gulf of Mexico. Results indicate that the physical model effectively reproduces the mesoscale features of circulation underlying the resulting chlorophyll concentrations, especially when circulation fronts exist.