Salmon Steward

unpredictable impacts to the food web and salmon returns. It also underlined the need for constant monitoring and a complete picture of the entire, ever-changing Strait of Georgia environment. Essentially, we need to be everywhere at once, all the time… and on a limited budget! Enter the Citizen Science Program, one of the most successful by-products of the SSMSP. The program outfits volunteers who sample on the same day in nine di erent areas of the Strait, allowing for comparative data points across the whole Strait of Georgia ecosystem. These volunteers use their own fishing vessels to take key oceanographic measurements, then transmit the data through a smartphone app to a data management system at Ocean Networks Canada. The data are being utilized for research and decision-making on juvenile salmon distributions, ocean acidification, disease development in Pacific salmon, nearshore habitat restoration and more. Citizen science volunteers called the Avid Anglers are also assisting with data collection to help determine the impact of winter conditions and forage fish abundance on the survival of juvenile Chinook and Coho (see p. 8). salmon Steward magazine 21 The Citizen Science Program captured an unprecedented volume of data at a fraction of the cost of traditional sampling methods. The Strait of Georgia ecosystem is highly dynamic with a multitude of factors constantly interacting in di erent areas in di erent ways. Fine- scale data enables more precise analysis and better management of salmon. The CTD (Conductivity, Temperature, Depth) is the main workhorse for taking data measurements in the Strait. RESEARCHING SALMON DISEASE Last year, PSF released a position statement recommending that all B.C. salmon aquaculture operations be moved to closed-containment facilities on land. The position was informed by findings through the Strategic Salmon Health Initiative (SSHI) – a partnership between PSF, DFO and Genome BC. The SSHI was started to provide scientific clarity on interactions between wild, hatchery and aquaculture salmon, and the presence of potentially disease-causing microbes that could undermine the survival of Pacific salmon and ultimately their abundance. Thanks to cutting-edge genomic technology a huge volume of samples have been analyzed, revealing the first finding of Heart and Skeletal Muscle Inflammation disease on a salmon farm; eight new viruses from aquaculture and wild salmon; and important new findings about jaundice anemia in Chinook. More work is required to determine if exchange of these viruses is occurring between salmon in open-net pens and wild Pacific salmon. These new genomic tools could also help improve hatchery release strategies and survival for hatchery- reared Chinook and Coho salmon. EVERY $100 YOU DONATE BY AUGUST 30 WILL RECEIVE ONE ENTRY TO WIN A PACKAGE DONATED BY STANLEY AND PRO LINE SPORTS. PACKAGE INCLUDES: PRO LINE SPORTS. PACKAGE INCLUDES: BONUS INCENTIVE ➜ IF YOU BECOME A MONTHLY DONOR WITH A MINIMUM PLEDGE OF $10 A MONTH, YOU'LL ALSO GET YOUR CHOICE OF A PSF BALL CAP OR TOQUE! New research through the SSHI has found an association between Piscine Reovirus and jaundice anemia in Chinook salmon. (TOP) SOMBILON.COM; (RIGHT) ALEXANDRA MORTON

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