Lecture on Salmon Survey

Sockeye salmon spawning./Photo courtesy of ODFW.

As part of the ongoing Research Seminars series, the Hatfield Marine Science Center (HMSC) will host Laurie Weitkamp a Research Fisheries Biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Northwest Fisheries Science Centerto discuss the International Year of the Salmon's High Seas Survery. This presentation will take place on Thursday, Dec. 8, at 3:30 p.m.

About the talk:

“During February-April 2022, a large scale, coordinated survey of Pacific salmon high seas habitats was conducted as a signature project of the International Year of the Salmon (IYS).  Five ships sampled the physical environment, pelagic ecosystems and Pacific salmon across 2.5 million km² of the North Pacific Ocean using complementary methodologies.  The overarching goal of this survey was to understand how increasingly extreme climate and associated physical environmental variability influence the pelagic ecosystem, as well as the abundance, distribution, growth, and condition of Pacific salmon. The survey was designed to obtain novel data about salmon during winter, a period hypothesized to be an important determinant of salmon year class strength.  This talk will provide highlights of the results of the survey, with comparisons winter surveys in the Gulf of Alaska in 2019 and 2020.  Across all ships, over 2,300 salmon were caught in 2022, representing all species of Pacific salmon and steelhead.  While 10,000s of samples collected during surveys await processing, the preliminary results already provide new and exciting insights into salmon and the pelagic ecosystems that support them on the high seas."

These talks are delivered in a hybrid fashion. The event is free, and all are welcome to attend in person in the Gladys Valley Marine Studies Building auditorium at the HMSC (2030 S.E. Marine Science Dr). You can also attend online. Register here to attend remotely via Zoom.