Salmon Steward

T he International Gulf of Alaska Expedition is a comprehensive, privately funded study of factors aecting production of Pacific salmon in the Gulf of Alaska during winter 2018-'19. It's the signature event of the International Year of the Salmon – a framework for outreach and research launched by the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission, the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization and other partners. The expedition is happening thanks largely to the support of the Pacific Salmon Foundation. Brian Riddell and I go back a long way. I think Dr. Riddell is the best steward of Pacific salmon in North America and his experience makes him a little wary of people with proposals like mine, chartering a Russian research ship. But he and the PSF Board agreed to be the lead partners and help us raise $1.2 million so the Professor Kaganovsky, along with 21 scientists from Dick Beamish ORGANIZER, GULF OF ALASKA EXPEDITION salmon Steward magazine 23 SALMON ON THE HIGH SEAS Salmon? WHO CARES ABOUT five countries, could embark on a historic research voyage to the Gulf of Alaska. If we are to be responsible stewards of Pacific salmon in a future of changing ocean ecosystems, it is crucial we understand the mechanisms that regulate their abundance. We required a Russian ship because the crew and scientists are very good at conducting surveys that produce reliable estimates for numbers of salmon returning the following year. We needed to sample at the end of winter to test our ideas about factors aecting survival of salmon once they enter the ocean. The major hypothesis we are testing is that the abundance of salmon is mostly determined by the end of the first winter in the open ocean. That's because the fish that did not grow fast enough in the first months in the ocean also did not store enough fat to survive a period of low food abundance in winter. The research in the Gulf of Alaska links the nearshore studies being done through PSF's Salish Sea Marine Survival Project because the fish caught at the end of winter in the Gulf of Alaska are the juveniles that survived in the Strait of Georgia. If we see thresholds in growth and energy levels in the fish we caught in the Gulf, it will help confirm that salmon survival depends on maximizing the use of energy for growth during the early marine period. There are dozens of other measurements being recorded during this voyage, including oceanographic studies. I believe the discoveries we make will change how we study salmon. The expedition has a data manager who will ensure that all the data collected will be available to others. Importantly, the cooperation among 21 scientists from five countries, on a Russian ship in the middle of the Gulf of Alaska in the dead of winter, all studying the ocean ecology of salmon, is an example for a future of international cooperation, which was the intent of our proposal a decade ago for an International Year of the Salmon. An unprecedented voyage to the Gulf of Alaska changes how we study salmon The Professor Kaganovsky is a Russian research vessel that was home to 21 scientists from five Pacific Rim countries for five weeks at sea. It is widely believed that about 1/3 of all Pacific salmon spend winter in the Gulf of Alaska. Impacts to salmon there can impact salmon around the Pacific Rim. But at present, we simply don't know what is happening to them in this deep-sea environment: yearofthesalmon.org/gulf-of-alaska- expedition The Gulf of Alaska Expedition benefited from major PSF funding and is part of the Salish Sea Marine Survival Project. Read more on page 20 and donate online at psf.ca to contribute to this landmark effort.

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