Salmon Steward

H allelujah! After five years in planning and fundraising we are now off and running to restore Pacific salmon production in the Strait of Georgia! The Pacific Salmon Foundation is leading this effort to rebuild Chinook and Coho production and restore fisheries in the Strait through a $10-million multi-disciplinary effort to determine the most significant factors affecting juvenile salmon and Steelhead during their early marine life. Here are some highlights from 2015: • 33 sub-projects engaging 30 different partners were launched, building an essential science network to tackle the problem. • New approaches were used, including development of original technologies, expanded applications of Canadian technologies and creative applications of existing tools. • Private vessels from around the Strait of Georgia became oceanographic sampling vessels to collect essential data about salmon's early marine environment. • Satellites were applied to the study of marine plants. • Partner contributions of researchers, labs, vessels and specialized equipment resulted in $4 of leverage for every $1 contributed by the Foundation and its donors! What is the Project? The Salish Sea Marine Survival Project is a massive scientific undertaking that is unprecedented in its scale and scope in the Salish Sea. Presently, the Project involves more than 150 scientists and technical staff from more than 40 federal and state agencies, First Nations, universities, industry, and non-profit organizations from the United States and Canada. And, coordination is conducted by two non-profit organizations – the Vancouver- based Pacific Salmon Foundation in Canada and the Seattle-based Long-Live the Kings. During the last 20 years, there have been three major observations that inspired us to start this initiative. For one, there have been significant declines in Chinook, Coho and Steelhead marine survival relative to other regions in the Pacific Northwest. Recent catches have been less than one-tenth of past peak levels. There have also been many changes in the Salish Sea marine ecosystem during the same time period involving many other species, such as decreases of forage fish and increases of harbour seals. Finally, there is growing scientific consensus that overall marine survival of Pacific salmon is largely dependent upon the growth and mortality rates of juvenile salmon in estuaries. ecosystem context: a UniqUe aPProach Because the interaction between salmon and the marine environment in the Salish Sea is so complex, the Project must be approached from an ecosystem context, necessitating experts from many disciplines, and measuring as many factors as possible simultaneously. How else can we hope to understand the interac- tions between the components of a natural ecosystem? And, while Chinook, Coho and Steelhead are the species of greatest concern; Sockeye, Pink and Chum salmon are in the same environment and must also be considered. The Project will focus on issues affecting juvenile salmon and Steelhead survival while they are in the Strait of Georgia, including rivers, streams, estuaries, and out to the open ocean. This includes understanding the condi- tion of fish entering the marine environment to determine if impacts occurring prior to them leaving freshwater are reducing survival in the Strait. The Project is based on three broad concepts that impact salmon, which have been ranked in order of significance: A. Bottom-up processes look at the annual en- vironmental conditions, like weather, water and plankton, that determine the prey (food) available for salmon, and changes that determine the size and growth rate of juvenile salmon, impacting their survival (every year in the Strait is different); B. Top-down processes include biological factors that directly affect survival of salmon and larger forage fish. Predation president's message 6 2016 psf.ca BY DR. BRIAN RIDDELL Pacific Salmon Foundation CEO Dr. Brian Riddell gets hands-on in the Salish Sea with a microtrolling spoon. Off to the Races! The Salish Sea Marine Survival Project is finally underway

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