Salish Sea Marine Survival Project

13 PROJECTS 1. Citizen Science Oceanography Program What is it? Members of the public collect important oceanographic data about the Strait of Georgia to help us better under- stand the decline in Pacific Salmon abundance. The project is a partnership between the Pacific Salmon Foundation, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, UBC and Ocean Networks Canada (ONC). Through this program, data have been collected at a spatial and temporal level that has never been accomplished before, and the entire Strait can be sampled within one day! How it works The PSF Citizen Science program began in 2015 and was the brainchild of Dr. Eddy Carmack — a retired scientist from the Institute of Ocean Sciences, DFO. It involves volunteers using their own fishing vessels to do ocean- ographic surveys of the Strait of Georgia approximately every two weeks (Figure 1). An instrument is lowered through the water to collect and store electronic measurements of conductivity, temperature and depth (CTD) (Figure 2). Conductivity values can be used to calculate salinity. Two auxiliary sensors are also used to measure fluorescence (an indicator of plankton productivity and algal growth) and oxygen content (which helps trace the movement and flushing of water). All this information is then transmitted using a custom designed smart phone application and uploaded to an oceanographic data management system at the University of Victoria, where the data are checked and then archived. The data, once verified and archived, are freely available to anyone. Four other elements of the work are done by hand to assess water quality. Water samples are taken for nutrient analysis, phytoplankton and zooplankton samples are collected, and turbidity is measured. Nutrients can be limiting factors in plankton growth, while low turbidity is an indicator of healthy water. Plankton is analyzed for occurrence of harmful algae blooms, as well as being Nature's base of the ocean food chain. In one day, these citizen scientists collect data and water samples from more than 100 sites with automatic trans- mission of the data via a mobile app called Community Fishers. The app, developed by ONC, allows fishers and volunteer citizens to upload the oceanographic data to ONC's world-leading data management system, Oceans 2.0. From there, the data are archived, processed and visualized for scientists and the public around the world. Why it's important Collecting oceanographic measurements this way allows us to be "everywhere at once" and make accurate, consistent data comparisons like never before. Dedicated and trained local citizens are also significant in this era of over-committed staff and shrinking budgets. Finally, the data will help us better understand what is impacting the survival of Pacific Salmon in our local waters. THE VALUE OF CITIZEN SCIENCE PROGRAMS BACKGROUND PSF funded a number of citizen science programs during SSMSP. By 'citizen science' we are referring to the involvement of the interested public in information collection usually within their communities and local activities. There is great value to partnering with citizen science programs, including maximizing information collected in cost-effective ways, developing informed and scientifically competent citizens, and increased understanding by members of the pubic and local communities. Three ongoing SSMSP citizen science programs are described below. Figure 2. A citizen scientist lowering a CTD (Conductivity- Temperature-Depth) in the Strait of Georgia. Figure 1. Citizen Science Sampling Locations 2016-present. Victoria Vancouver Victoria Strait of Georgia Pacic Ocean Strait of Juan de Fuca Seattle Seattle Vancouver Campbell River Nanaimo Powell River Courtenay Campbell River Nanaimo Powell River Courtenay VANCOUVER ISLAND

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