Local wind fields can determine the magnitude of coastal benthic secondary production (BSP) via regulation of metabolically-important environmental factors (e.g. water temperature, mixing depth, food supply, sediment transport) by wind-forced hydrodynamics. This hypothesis was tested using 201 published estimates of BSP and local wind field data. Wind stress was significantly correlated with Total-, Macro-, and Meio-benthic secondary production in a negative manner ( R ~ = 0.32, 0.12,0.52 respectively; p < 0.001). Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that wind stress, tidal height, shelter indices and water temperature explained 90 O/ O of the variance in Total-BSP. Neither benthic nor pelagic primary production contributed to a significant reduction in BSP variance. Data support the concept of a physical regulation of coastal benthic energy flow and suggest that the effect of wind stress on BSP is mediated largely by sediment transport.