Salmon Steward is the official publication of the Pacific Salmon Foundation in British Columbia, Canada
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1379981
4 Spring 2021 psf.ca DANNY SWAINSON A fter five years of intense research, the Pacific Salmon Foundation has published its preliminary findings from the Salish Sea Marine Survival Project, which was focused on chronic salmon declines in the Salish Sea. These findings have resulted in several restoration initiatives, as well as a closer evaluation of aquaculture, hatcheries and policies affecting salmon habitat. "The Salish Sea Marine Survival Project made significant contributions to understanding what determines the abundance of our wild Pacific salmon," says Dr. Brian Riddell, PSF science advisor, who co-led the program with Dr. Isobel Pearsall, PSF director of marine science. "This project will enable the implementation of key management actions to benefit Chinook and Coho production." PRELIMINARY FINDINGS include: l The presence of a dozen pathogens associated with poorer body condition and survival for Chinook, Coho and Sockeye in the southern Strait of Georgia (50 different pathogens were documented in B.C. salmon). The study was the first to find Piscine orthoreovirus (PRV) and associated diseases in B.C.'s aquaculture salmon, prompting PSF to support a phase-out of open-net salmon aquaculture in the province. l Big differences in survival rates between hatchery-produced and wild salmon. A study focused on Chinook in the Cowichan River found that wild juvenile Chinook survived at twice the rate of their hatchery-produced counterparts. The findings have inspired a major spinoff study funded by the joint federal-provincial B.C. Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund to improve the effectiveness of hatcheries. l Critical bottlenecks to survival occur in the first few weeks at sea and during the first winter in the salmon lifecycle. Pacific herring are a key food source during this period and their availability likely helps determine survival and growth. PSF has extended this research over two expeditions to study the winter ecology and survival of salmon in the Gulf of Alaska, thanks to the support of partners and charitable donors. l The major impact of predation, and how habitat conditions can protect or expose juvenile salmon to predators such as harbour seals and herons. PSF has made several recommendations on this front, such as removal of log booms in estuaries, water flow regulations and large-scale marine debris clean-up and habitat restoration engaging communities around the Strait of Georgia. "We at the Pacific Salmon Foundation sincerely hope that the community networks developed to complete the Salish Sea Project will be sustained, including the international partners crucial in this boundary sea," says PSF's Dr. Isobel Pearsall. "When we all work together, restoration projects are more effective, because they can be broad-based, coordinated and properly monitored to assess limiting factors and net gains in restoration." Critical seed funding of $5 million from the Pacific Salmon Commission, Southern Endowment Fund, announced in 2013, allowed PSF and Long Live the Kings to begin the project in 2014. PSF built on the contribution, raising over $12 million through individual donors, corporate supporters and partners. This included early and continuous support from the Pacific Salmon Endowment Fund Society. n What We Learned in the Salish Sea Marine Survival Project Pathogens, predators and production SALISH SEA PSF biologist Collin Middleton inserts a PIT tag into a juvenile Coho at the Nanaimo Hatchery. His work is part of the Marine Science Program's studies on tracking when and where salmon survival is impacted. OR visit psf.ca/what-we-do/salish-sea- marine-survival-project online. READ THE FULL MARINE SURVIVAL PROJECT SUMMARY