Salmon On the Fringe: Not all who wander are lost
Guest Post By: Karen Dunmall, PhD Candidate, University of Manitoba Edited by Patrick Cooney I study salmon “on the fringe”. They are not part of the mainstream. They exist on the extreme periphery. They live in the Arctic. Specifically, the Canadian Arctic of the Northwest Territories. Naturally, Pacific salmons are primarily distributed in waters of…
Signature electrofishing moves
by Brandon Peoples In this week’s post, I break from our normal scientific articles to add a bit of field work humor with a comic. Non-lethal and incredibly effective, electrofishing is one of the most important sampling techniques in a fish biologist’s toolbox. But like any sampling method, electrofishing can be biased toward catching certain species…
Blurred lines: Can climate change-induced range expansion qualify a species as invasive?
Does range expansion from climate change qualify a species as invasive if it impacts resident native species in its new habitat?
The cup spilleth-over
By: Dana Sackett When marine protected areas (MPAs) are established as a strategy for fisheries management, spillover is one of the primary goals. Conceptually, spillover is relatively simple: protect an area from fishing to allow fish populations to grow inside the MPA and eventually the benefits caused by the protected status (larger and more fish)…
Fish Science: It’s what we do.
Being outside with family and friends allows time for reflection and remembrance of those who came before us and provided us incredible opportunities. The five of us at The Fisheries Blog encourage you to take that time this week. Get outside today and we will see you next week!
Q-n-A: Recreational Fishing
By Steve Midway Welcome to another Fisheries Blog Q-n-A! This segment is designed to showcase the knowledge and specialty of someone in the fisheries world who flat out knows their stuff. For this Q-n-A, we are featuring Rob Southwick, the president of Southwick Associates, a fish and wildlife consulting company that helps resource managers better understand resource use…
Playing the Role of a Fish Biologist for One Day
Guest Author: Sarah Martin When I hopped in the car at 6:30am to begin the trek North from Portland, OR to Longview, WA, I had no idea what to expect from the day. I knew I was going to help fish biologists at Abernathy Fish Technology Center with a stream sampling project but, aside from…
Off-the-wall fishing derbies raise participation and awareness
by Don Orth and Brandon Peoples Decline in recreational angling is a major concern of resource managers in North America as agency revenues are tied to license sales and excise taxes on fishing and motorboat fuel. Anglers have many reasons to fish, and fisheries scientists foster this understanding by using angler typologies based on angler…
Pharmaceuticals for Fish
By Craig Springer, Guest Author The Aquatic Animal Drug Approval Partnership (AADAP) moves medicine from the theoretical to the practical The parallel is too curious to be overlooked. James Henshall, M.D., had his home just a short walk from his work in a Victorian two-story that still stands. There on the grounds at a national…
Finding Fish in Faith
Fish are economically, socially, and ecologically important across the globe. Consequently, it’s not surprising that they figure predominately in many of the world’s major religions.
Fish out of water
By: Dana Sackett The saying, ‘fish out of water’ has often been used to describe someone out of their comfort zone, because if you take a fish out of water and drop them onto land most would not be very comfortable. However, there are a number of fish across the world that would scoff at…
Plastic trash is an increasing but preventable hazard to fish health
By Sarah Wheeler Look around you. How many plastic items are within your arms reach? There is no question that it is virtually impossible to avoid plastic. It wraps our food, transports our water, and is the building block of countless products. But, less than half of produced plastic ends up in landfills, and alarming…
Killing sea lions to save salmon
By Patrick Cooney I rubbed my eyes, focused, and asked: Is it Sasquatch? A massive beaver pushing a log? Or is it Humphrey the Wayward Whale up to his old shenanigans? After spending much of my life in rivers around the globe, I had never seen such a large hairy beast plying freshwater like I…
Are NOAA Administrators and President Obama giving up on a century of research?
By Ben Kornegay and Patrick Cooney Who warns you about approaching dangerous weather and hurricanes, produces incredible maps and charts of the seas and skies, conducts research for sustainable use and protection of ocean and coastal resources, and is responsible for improving stewardship of the environment? We will tell you who: Scientists with the National…
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