Independent Science Panel Next Year To Review Significant Research With Implications For Columbia/Snake River Salmon, Steelhead Management
December 18th, 2020
The region’s Independent Scientific Advisory Board next year will review four scientific issues with important Columbia River basin salmon management implications, including recent research documenting salmon declines in West Coast rivers without major dams, stressing ocean conditions as the key driver of salmon survival.
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Study Suggests Traditional Salmon Fishing Practices, Management Could Help Revitalize Pacific Fisheries
December 11th, 2020
Across the North Pacific, salmon fisheries are struggling with climate variability, declining fish populations, and a lack of sustainable fishing opportunities. According to a new study from a team of Indigenous leaders and conservation scientists, help lies in revitalizing Indigenous fishing practices and learning from Indigenous systems of salmon management.
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Research: Tire-Related Chemical In Stormwater Killing Over Half Of Adult Coho In Puget Sound Urban Streams; Fish Exposed To ‘Giant Chemical Soup’
December 3rd, 2020
Every fall more than half of the coho salmon that return to Puget Sound's urban streams die before they can spawn. In some streams, all of them die. But scientists didn't know why.
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Study Offers Comprehensive Look At Multitude Of Mortal Human, Environmental Threats Facing Killer Whales
December 3rd, 2020
Pathology reports on more than 50 killer whales stranded over nearly a decade in the northeast Pacific and Hawaii show that orcas face a variety of mortal threats—many stemming from human interactions.
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After B.C. Discovery Scientists Monitoring Alaskan Waters For Invasive, Voracious European Green Crab; Threat To Salmon, Dungeness Crab
December 3rd, 2020
Natural resource managers in British Columbia discovered several adult male and female European green crabs on Haida Gwaii this past July. Alarm bells immediately went off for biologists in Alaska.
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Study: Razor Clams On Washington’s Remote Olympic Coast Found Containing Microplastics
December 3rd, 2020
Portland State University researchers and their collaborators at the Quinault Indian Nation and Oregon State University found microplastics in Pacific razor clams on Washington's sparsely populated Olympic Coast -- proof, they say, that even in more remote regions, coastal organisms can't escape plastic contamination.
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Study Finds Some Sport Fish Caught Repeatedly, Could Throw Off Population Counts
November 20th, 2020
A new study reports that, for several species of oceanic sport fish, individual fish that are caught, released and re-caught are more likely to be caught again than scientists anticipated. The findings raise some interesting questions for policy makers tasked with preserving sustainable fisheries.
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Study Shows All West Coast Chinook In Decline Whether River Dammed, Undammed; Cites Ocean Conditions As Key Cause
November 12th, 2020
A recent study shows that all stocks of chinook salmon are declining along the West Coast at about the same rate and concludes that habitat and dams are not the likely culprits. It’s something far more out of our control: The ocean.
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Missing Data: Covid, High Spill, Low Fish Detection Results In Lack Of 2020 Juvenile Salmonid Survival Estimates From Upstream Dams To Below Bonneville
November 12th, 2020
Every year about this time, NOAA Fisheries releases a memo detailing preliminary survival estimates for passage of spring-migrating juvenile salmonids through Snake and Columbia River dams – key data for assessing the impact of federal hydropower operations on 13 species of salmon and steelhead listed under the Endangered Species Act. This year, however, due to Covid-19 impacts and more spill for fish, that data took a hit.