I was hoping to be able to fit in the title, “Test your herring aide” but it just wouldn’t quite work. A fascinating read that can help you better understand the relationship and issues facing one of the cornerstone species for salmon, seals and many other predators that we know and love. Those of us in working in the world of habitat recovery and protection, such as the NGO that I am associated with, Sound Action, are focused on protecting the nearshore where many of these species breed. As you will read from this report, the story is very complex. Solutions to the problem are going to be very difficult to implement in a meaningful way. The Governor’s new Orca Recovery program does address some of this, by requesting Fish and Wildlife to be more aggressive in their efforts to protect remaining habitat. We’ve been waiting for that for a long time.
One of the first steps in protecting any species is understanding as much as you can about it. When it comes to Pacific herring in the Salish Sea, much is known but until recently many of the key scientific findings about the species had not been gathered together in a single place. A new state of the knowledge report published by the Puget Sound Institute and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is a step toward remedying that.The report, “Assessment and Management of Salish Sea Herring” was prepared with support from a grant from the SeaDoc Society. It will be used to advance herring conservation in the region, including potential herring recovery work related to the state’s Pacific herring ‘Vital Sign’. Herring are also a critical food source for many species such as Chinook salmon, which in turn feed Puget Sound’s endangered orcas. Tessa Francis of the Puget Sound Institute and Dayv Lowry of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife were the principle investigators on the report and received input from a cross-border team from state and federal agencies, universities and area tribes. (Puget Sound Institute)
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: Puget Sound |
