"Salmon"

he Endangered Species Act requires periodic reviews of species that are listed as threatened or endangered to ensure that the listing is still accurate.

An interview with NOAA Fisheries biologist Rory Saunders.

Juvenile Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.), ecologically-related species, and associated biophysical data were collected from the marine waters of the northern region of southeastern Alaska (SEAK) in 2015. This annual survey, conducted by the Southeast Coastal Monitoring (SECM) project, marks 19 consecutive years of systematically monitoring how juvenile salmon utilize marine ecosystems during a period of climate change. The survey was implemented to identify the relationships between year-class strength of juvenile salmon and biophysical parameters that influence their habitat use, marine growth, prey fields, predation, and stock interactions. Up to 13 stations were sampled monthly in epipelagic waters from May to August (total of 23 sampling days). Fish, zooplankton, surface water samples, and physical profile data were collected during daylight at each station using a surface rope trawl, bongo nets, a water sampler, and a conductivity-temperature-depth profiler. Surface (3-m) temperatures and salinities ranged from approximately 8 to 15 ºC and 15 to 32 PSU across inshore, strait, and coastal habitats for the four months. A total of 17,228 fish and squid, representing 25 taxa, were captured in 92 rope trawl hauls fished from June to August. Juvenile salmon comprised approximately 89% of the catch. Over all months and habitats, juvenile pink (O. gorbuscha), chum (O. keta), sockeye (O. nerka), and coho (O. kisutch) salmon occurred in 51-92% of the hauls, while juvenile Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha) occurred in about 22% of the hauls. Abundance of juvenile salmon was low in 2015; peak CPUE occurred in June strait and coastal habitats. Coded-wire tags were recovered from 51 juvenile coho salmon and 5 juvenile and immature Chinook salmon, that primarily originated from hatchery and wild stocks in SEAK sampled in the strait habitat; an additional 18 adipose-clipped juvenile salmon without tags were present. The only non-Alaskan stocks were recovered off Icy Point, a juvenile Chinook salmon from the Willamette River, OR and a juvenile coho salmon from the Satsop River, Washington. Of the juvenile salmon examined for otolith marks, Alaska enhanced stocks comprised 56% of the juvenile chum (373 of 663) and 38% of the juvenile sockeye salmon (202 of 532). Of the 380 potential predators of juvenile salmon, predation on juvenile salmon was not observed in the six fish species examined. The long term seasonal time series of SECM juvenile salmon stock assessment and biophysical data is used in conjunction with basin-scale ecosystem metrics to annually forecast pink salmon harvest in SEAK. Long term seasonal monitoring of key stocks of juvenile salmon and associated ecologically-related species, including fish predators and prey, permits researchers to understand how growth, abundance, and interactions affect year-class strength of salmon in marine ecosystems during a period of rapid climate change.

The goal of ESA recovery under this plan is to improve the viability of Snake River sockeye salmon, and the ecosystems upon which they depend, to the point that they no longer require ESA protection.

The forecast calls for the first significant pulse of Chinook salmon to cross the Yukon River Delta around June 15 this year, and the half way point of the run is expected to occur around June 23.

Biological opinion on the effects of issuing exempted fishing permits to test salmon excluder devices in the Bering Strait/Aleutian Islands pelagic trawl fisheries.

Juvenile Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.), ecologically-related species, and associated biophysical data were collected from the marine waters of the northern region of southeastern Alaska (SEAK) in 2014. This annual survey, conducted by the Southeast Coastal Monitoring (SECM) project, marks 18 consecutive years of systematically monitoring how juvenile salmon utilize marine ecosystems during a period of climate change. The survey was implemented to identify the relationships between year-class strength of juvenile salmon and biophysical parameters that influence their habitat use, marine growth, prey fields, predation, and stock interactions. Up to 13 stations were sampled monthly in epipelagic waters from May to August (total of 23 sampling days). Fish, zooplankton, surface water samples, and physical profile data were collected during daylight at each station using a surface rope trawl, bongo nets, a water sampler, and a conductivity-temperature-depth profiler. Surface (3-m) temperatures and salinities ranged from approximately 8 to 15 ºC and 18 to 32 PSU across inshore, strait, and coastal habitats for the four months. A total of 79,524 fish and squid, representing 29 taxa, were captured in 97 rope trawl hauls fished from June to August. Juvenile salmon comprised approximately 13% of the total fish. Juvenile pink (O. gorbuscha), chum (O. keta), sockeye (O. nerka), and coho (O. kisutch) salmon occurred in 50-92% of the hauls by month and habitat, while juvenile Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha) occurred in about 20% of the hauls. Abundance of juvenile salmon was high in 2014; peak CPUE occurred in July in strait and coastal habitats. Coded-wire tags were recovered from 35 coho salmon and 5 Chinook salmon, that primarily originated from hatchery and wild stocks in SEAK sampled in the strait habitat; an additional 6 adipose-clipped individuals without tags (presumably originating from the Pacific Northwest) were recovered mainly in coastal habitat, where a non-Alaskan juvenile coho and Chinook were recovered (both Oregon origin). Of the juvenile salmon examined for otolith marks, Alaska enhanced stocks comprised 64% of the juvenile chum and 32% of the juvenile sockeye salmon. Of the 147 potential predators of juvenile salmon, predation on juvenile salmon was observed in 2 of 11 fish species examined. The long term seasonal time series of SECM juvenile salmon stock assessment and biophysical data is used in conjunction with basin-scale ecosystem metrics to annually forecast pink salmon harvest in SEAK. Long term seasonal monitoring of key stocks of juvenile salmon and associated ecologically-related species, including fish predators and prey, permits researchers to understand how growth, abundance, and interactions affect year-class strength of salmon during climate change in marine ecosystems.

One of the biggest tools in salmon restoration is about the size of a grain of rice.

The goal of ESA recovery under this plan is to improve the viability of the Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast ESU of Coho salmon, and the ecosystems upon which they depend, to the point that they no longer require ESA protection.

Juvenile Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.), ecologically-related species, and associated biophysical data were collected from the marine waters of the northern region of southeastern Alaska (SEAK) in 2013. This annual survey, conducted by the Southeast Coastal Monitoring (SECM) project, marks 17 consecutive years of systematically monitoring how juvenile salmon utilize marine ecosystems during a period of climate change. The survey was implemented to identify the relationships between year-class strength of juvenile salmon and biophysical parameters that influence their habitat use, marine growth, prey fields, predation, and stock interactions. Thirteen stations were sampled monthly in epipelagic waters from May to August (total of 23 sampling days). Fish, zooplankton, surface water samples, and physical profile data were collected during daylight at each station using a surface rope trawl, Norpac and bongo nets, a water sampler, and a conductivity-temperature-depth profiler. Surface (3-m) temperatures and salinities ranged from approximately 7 to 16 ºC and 16 to 32 PSU across inshore, strait, and coastal habitats for the four months. A total of 25,730 fish and squid, representing 27 taxa, were captured in 98 rope trawl hauls fished from June to August. Juvenile salmon comprised approximately 94% of the total fish catch with the exception of one large haul of capelin (n = 10,452). Juvenile pink (O. gorbuscha), chum (O. keta), sockeye (O. nerka), and coho (O. kisutch) salmon occurred in 57-84% of the hauls by month and habitat, while juvenile Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha) occurred in 34% of the hauls. Abundance of juvenile salmon was moderate in 2013; peak CPUE occurred in July in strait and coastal habitats. Coded-wire tags were recovered from 20 coho salmon and 14 Chinook salmon, mainly including hatchery and wild stocks originating in SEAK and captured in strait habitat; an additional 20 adipose-clipped individuals without tags (presumably originating from the Pacific Northwest) were recovered mainly in coastal habitat. Alaska enhanced stocks comprised 59%, 19%, and < 1% of chum, sockeye, and coho salmon, respectively. Predation on juvenile salmon was observed in 3 of 11 fish species examined. The long term seasonal time series of SECM juvenile salmon stock assessment and biophysical data is used in conjunction with basin-scale ecosystem metrics to annually forecast pink salmon harvest in SEAK. Long term seasonal monitoring of key stocks of juvenile salmon and associated ecologically-related species, including fish predators and prey, permits researchers to understand how growth, abundance, and interactions affect year-class strength of salmon during climate change in marine ecosystems.