Salmon Steward

INSPIRING YOUNG SCIENTISTS It started with a chat over dinner. Dr. Maycira Costa, a University of Victoria researcher who's funded through the Salish Sea Marine Survival Project, was discussing an ongoing conundrum. The problem was that battery life was limiting the amount of data she and her colleagues could collect on sea lions. (It's a common belief that sea lions eat a lot of salmon, but that has yet to be validated.) Fortunately, her precocious 15-year-old son had a solution. Nattan had done a science project the year before using the temperature difference between cold water and warm air to create a cellphone charger to be used on water. His immediate thought was, "Why don't we apply the same concept using the temperature difference between warm-bodied mammals and cold water?" Nattan's innovation means that sensors will be powered indefinitely, whereas previously sensors were disposed of once their batteries had died. Since then, he has successfully tested his new technology on sea lions at the Vancouver Aquarium (and won several science awards for his efforts). Next steps will see Nattan test his invention with Wildlife Computers, the company that supplies marine mammal tracking devices for the Project. If he's successful, the technology could be adapted for ongoing seal research through the Salish Sea Marine Survival Project. 4 FALL/WINTER 2017 PSF.CA Salish Sea Marine Survival Project: Reeling in the Results by Dr. Brian Riddell, CEO, Pacific Salmon Foundation After three years, the Project reaches its most critical phase: analyzing the ocean of data our many partners have worked so hard to collect T he holiday season is an intensely busy time for everyone, and our partners with the Salish Sea Marine Survival Project are no exception. As 2017 draws to a close, more than 80 scientists partnering on our e•orts in the Strait of Georgia will close the chapter on an intense three years of field study, unprecedented in both scope and level of detail. Come the New Year, we will enter the most critical phase of this project – the analysis of all our results. In short, what does it all mean, and what are the next steps for recovery? ROAD TO RECOVERY During the last three years, the Salish Sea Marine Survival Project initiated upwards of 40 di•erent projects in partnership with 30 di•erent organizations. Why so many? We needed to overcome the fragmented view of the ecosystem that has hindered salmon research in the past. But synthesizing and understanding data on an entire ecosystem is no small task. The Citizen Science Program empowered trained volunteers with private vessels to collect samples at a fraction of the cost of traditional research vessels. This program alone has produced almost 11,000 samples that need to be analyzed. After eight years of designing the Salish Sea Marine Survival Project and working to fund its various initiatives, it is hard to believe we only have one year to go! With about 150 participants in Canada and the United States, hundreds of individual projects, and hundreds of donors, the Project has been an inspiring example of the power of collaboration and focused e•orts. IN THE EARLY '90S, WILD COHO, CHINOOK AND STEELHEAD IN THE STRAIT OF GEORGIA MYSTERIOUSLY PLUMMETED. TODAY, CATCHES ARE LESS THAN ONE-TENTH OF PAST PEAK LEVELS. NOW IN ITS LAST YEAR, THE SALISH SEA MARINE SURVIVAL PROJECT IS SET TO FIGURE OUT WHY AND WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT IT. MARINESURVIVALPROJECT.COM Nattan tests his invention on a sea lion at the Vancouver Aquarium.

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