In this week’s Science Friday, we hit on the concept of hyperstability, which occurs when catch rates remain high even as fish populations decline.
Science Friday: Nottawasaga River Steelhead Part 2 – A Great Lakes lesson in local adaptation and naturalization of a Steelhead population
This Science Friday we have the final part of a three-part series on steelhead in the Great Lakes. This is the second-half of last month’s article, authored by Brian Morrison, Fred Dobbs, and Chris Atkinson. The article was originally published in The Osprey in September 2010 (link to the original article in The Osprey is here: http://ospreysteelhead.org/archives/TheOspreyIssue67.pdf). The Osprey has …
What is the relationship between freshwater and ocean growth and steelhead life histories in the Situk River
We are in the heart of winter steelhead season now. Some regions are experiencing poor returns of wild fish this year, while others are faring better. As steelheaders we ride the wave, from good years to bad ones and everything in between. This week we are back with a Science Friday post on a recent study on wild steelhead in …
Science Friday- What Have We Lost?
Imagine going back in time 100 years to the Columbia River. What do you think the steelhead looked like then? How long were they? How much did they weigh? In the early 1900s scientists working with the federal Bureau of Fisheries visited the Columbia River, which was considered the center of steelhead abundance for the Lower 48 – and frankly, …
Science Friday: What happens when you cram the big’uns in with the small’ins?
We sure do love this beautiful weather! It’s almost the first day of June. Summer is officially within sight. This week’s Science Friday goes back in time over 20-years to 1997. We review a study conducted by Brett Harvey and Rodney Nakamoto. We have reviewed some of their work previously, which focused on habitat usage by adult steelhead. Today …
The Maury Povich Steelhead Show: You are all the father
Took a short break from our Science Friday posts to do some actual science (on Olympic Peninsula winter steelhead) and to weigh in on some important policy issues. But now, like anglers looking for fresh winter chrome: we’re b-a-a-a-c-k. As you know, in the Science Friday forum we discuss a wide range of topics important to the management and …
Can a Wild Coho Salmon Population Recover Following Closure of a Hatchery Program
Today’s post is the conclusion of our two part guest series on the recovery of Coho in Oregon’s Salmon River. (Click here for last weeks post) Lately we have shared several studies on Pink and Coho salmon, which provide important lessons for salmonid recovery efforts across a range of species and watersheds. Perhaps the most important lesson is that decisions …
Science Friday: The latest from the longest running steelhead monitoring project in British Columbia
Thank goodness it’s Friday. Fall is in the air and it’s time to get on the river! But first, let’s give our steelhead IQs another booster shot with a new Science Friday post. This week we have a guest writer and scientist, Colin Bailey, a PhD student studying fisheries science at Simon Fraser University under Jonathan Moore (Moore …
Not too hot, not too cold, the ocean must be just right
Two weeks ago we were on the Dean. This week we go even further north, to Auke Bay near Juneau, Alaska, for our next Science Friday post. The greater Juneau are is home to several rivers that host wild steelhead runs. Auke Creek is perhaps the most important of these feeder streams, as scientists at the Auke Bay Marine …
Science Friday: Surviving heat, drought and ponded streams
It is that time of year again. Heat wave after heat wave. As summer progresses stream flows will continue to decline all across steelhead country, and in some cases, smaller tributaries will go dry. In other cases, streams won’t be completely dewatered; instead, they will become ponded. This occurs when flows diminish so much that the only remaining surface …