During the period of 1990 to 1993, Robin J. LeBrasseur and N. Brent Hargreaves led a juvenile salmon migration research project off the west coast of Vancouver Island BC. This included the development of surface beam trawl gear that could be deployed from a large trawl vessel (CCGS W.E. Ricker) and operated in an offshore environment. This dataset contains the research survey catch data and individual fish examinations data.

Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) runs in rivers that flow into the eastern Bering Sea have been inconsistent and at times very weak. Low returns of chinook (O. tshawytscha) and chum (O. keta) salmon to the Yukon River, Kuskokwim River, and Norton Sound areas of Alaska prompted the state of Alaska to restrict commercial and subsistence fisheries during 2000 and declare the region a fisheries disaster area. Weak salmon returns to these river systems follow several years of low sockeye (O. nerka) salmon returns to Bristol Bay, which was declared a fisheries disaster region during 1998 by both the State of Alaska and the U.S. Department of Commerce. Causes of the poor salmon returns to these river systems are not known however, the regional-scale decline of these stocks indicates that the marine environment may play a critical role. Ocean conditions, particularly in the first few months after the salmon leave fresh water, are known to significantly affect salmon survival (Holtby et al. 1990; Friedland et al. 1996; Beamish and Mahnken 2001). Mechanisms affecting marine survival of the eastern Bering Sea salmon stocks are unknown, principally due to the lack of marine life history information on western Alaska salmon. To improve understanding of the marine life-history stage of salmon in the Bering Sea, the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission (NPAFC) began an internationally coordinated research program on salmon in the Bering Sea called the Bering-Aleutian Salmon International Survey (BASIS) (NPAFC 2001). As part of BASIS, scientists from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Ocean Carrying Capacity (OCC) program conducted a fall survey on the eastern Bering Sea shelf to provide key ecological data for eastern Bering Sea salmon stocks during their juvenile life-history stage. The goal of the OCC/BASIS salmon research cruise was to understand mechanisms underlying the effects of environment on distribution, migration, and growth of juvenile salmon on the eastern Bering Sea shelf. Primary objectives of BASIS include: 1) to determine the extent of offshore migrations of juvenile salmon from rivers draining into the eastern Bering Sea, 2) to describe the physical environment of the eastern and northeastern Bering Sea shelf occupied by juvenile salmon, and 3) to collect biological information on other ecologically important species. Summaries of previous Bering Sea juvenile salmon research cruises can be found in Farley et al. (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005).

The Pre-recruit survey project is collaborative involving researchers from the FE Division based in 3 laboratories (Newport, Seattle and Hammond), scientists from the Southwest Fisheries Science Center (Santa Cruz), along with researchers from several universities (Oregon State University, University of Oregon, University of Washington, University of California, Santa Cruz). In concert with a similar SWFSC survey effort through California, the purpose of this project is to conduct annual surveys within the coastal ecosystem off Oregon and Washington to quantify the environmental conditions and biota found along the California Current and to elucidate ecosystem-level processes affecting managed and protected marine resources. This project currently supports three main efforts: 1. An annual sampling regime of the hydrology, plankton, small fish, and predators along transects over the Continental Shelf from Oregon and Washington. This consistent survey has generated significant information on within- and between-year variability in the California Current Marine Ecosystem and has yielded valuable insights into the food web off our coast. 2. Collection of specimens for diet analysis, growth, containment load, and other studies related to the ecology and production of commercially important taxa and their relationships within the food web. 3. Parameters and ecological processes quantified during this effort are used in forecasts involving species, assemblages, and ecosystems and also to parameterize ecosystem models used to evaluate cumulative risks and managerial strategies. We towed a Cobb Trawl at 30 m at all stations.

Sampling juvenile salmon and associated fishes in open waters of the lower Columbia River estuary. Field work includes bi-weekly sampling during the spring outmigration (Apr-June), and monthly sampling throughout the summer and fall. We use a purse seine to sample open water habitats. Our objectives are to document the seasonal and interannual variation in juvenile salmon immediately prior to ocean entry, with respect to abundance, size, origins (H/W), stocks, food habitats, and parasites/pathogens. We also document the larger estuarine fish community, which serves a critical role as prey for juvenile salmon predators. Abundance and size of fish caught in Columbia estuary.

NOAA Fisheries is a cooperator with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Lummi, Nooksack, and Stillaguamish Tribes in a 10-year program to rebuild the South Fork Nooksack River spring Chinook and Stillaguamish River fall Chinook stocks through a captive broodstock program. Information on the number of juveniles received into the program is maintained and summarized by year. The production of prespawning adults transferred to Tribal Facilities for spawning is also annually summarized.

FY20 will mark the 23nd year of sampling, making the Juvenile Salmon and Ocean Ecosystem Survey (JSOES) the longest running salmon survey on the west coast. JSOES has clearly demonstrated correlations between ocean conditions and the distribution, abundance, and survival of juvenile Columbia River (CR) salmon in the Northern California Current (NCC) nearshore ecosystem. For example, our ocean indicators provide managers from the federal and state governments, tribes, and other agencies/groups the ability to forecast adult returns one to two years in advance for coho and spring/summer Chinook salmon. We continue to show the importance of evaluating ocean conditions to support management decisions and to provide context for efforts by the Northwest Power and Conservation Council (NWPCC) and BPA to restore and enhance salmon production. The primary goal of our work is to develop a mechanistic understanding of how trophic dynamics and conditions in the ocean and CR plume affect survival of juvenile salmonids. This knowledge will allow us to improve forecasts in a quantitative rather than qualitative manner, and decouple the effects of mitigation efforts in the freshwater environment from the effects of a changing ocean environment. These improved forecasts will lead to well-informed recommendations for an ecosystem approach to management strategies based on the full suite of river, plume, and ocean environments. Stomach Contents from juvenile salmonids, primarily Chinook and Coho.

The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) conducted the Juvenile Salmonid Collection System (JSCS) Pilot Project from 2022 — 2025 to test new methods in fish capture and collect juvenile winter-run Chinook Salmon in the McCloud River (Wintu name: Winnemem Waywaket) as part of the greater effort to assess the feasibility of Chinook Salmon reintroduction above Shasta Dam. The goal of the JSCS Pilot Project was to test the performance of the JSCS structure in the McCloud Arm of Shasta Reservoir and to design, fabricate, and test configurations of the JSCS fish trap. DWR tested initial structural components of the JSCS in Shasta Reservoir in 2022 and operated the complete system at five sites across the reservoir–riverine interface in the McCloud Arm of Shasta Reservoir 2023 — 2024. Based on the results for those years, DWR redesigned the trap (JSCS V2) and deployed it in riverine conditions downstream of the McCloud Bridge Campground between September 30 — December 1, 2025. This dataset summarizes the data collected for the pilot study including environmental data collected on and around the JSCS fish trap, structural performance data for the JSCS fish trap, and fish capture data from the JSCS fish trap.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has been conducting surface water trawl surveys since 1992 in the coastal waters of British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and Alaska and in the high seas of the Gulf of Alaska. These surveys initially focused on determining the migratory patterns (1992-2002) and on the growth and physiology (2003-2016) of juvenile Pacific Salmon. Since 2016, the focus has been expanded to include all components of the pelagic ecosystem while retaining a strong focus on juvenile Pacific Salmon. Given the change in research priorities, there are differences between years in location and timing. The survey series are provided based on large marine ecosystems, so data will vary in availability. These survey data contain fishing and catch information along with biological information recorded. Surveys available here have published reports that outline overall operations and any oceanographic data, zooplankton and additional samples collected.

This dataset represents fish sampling and habitat measurements (https://data.kingcounty.gov/Environment-Waste-Management/Habitat-data-for-Juvenile-Pacific-salmonid-habitat/mtrd-zgtr/about_data) from the Snoqualmie and Green rivers in the Puget Sound region of Washington State, USA. Using a cataraft mounted with a boat electrofisher, these data were collected between late winter and late spring from 2016 through 2022. Measurements were of 25-m-long transects along six different edge habitat types in the two rivers. The edge habitats represented in this dataset are ‘armored banks’, ‘biorevetment banks’, ‘unarmored banks’, ‘bars’, ‘backwaters’, and ‘side channels’. These data were collected as part of monitoring of eight habitat restoration or bioengineered bank stabilization projects in the Snoqualmie and Green rivers, along with three more general studies of fish-habitat relationships in the two rivers. These data are analyzed and presented in the journal article “Juvenile Pacific salmonid habitat use in two Puget Sound lowland Rivers”, published in the Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (https://afspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/tafs.10457). All data were collected by the King County Water and Land Resources Division, Science and Technical Support Section. Habitat data were collected during the day and include measurements of the width of low-velocity habitat (≤ 0.45m/s) and water depth along each transect. Fish sampling occurred after darkness fell the evening following habitat data collection. Fish data include the number of each species sampled at each transect and the number of seconds each transect was electrofished. For additional details on the data and collection methods, please see the associated journal article or contact the article authors: Aaron David (adavid@kingcounty.gov), Christopher Gregersen (chris.gregersen@kingcounty.gov), Joshua Kubo (josh.kubo@kingcounty.gov), Daniel Lantz (dan.lantz@kingcounty.gov), and James Bower (james.bower@kingcounty.gov).

NOAA Fisheries is a cooperator with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Lummi, Nooksack, and Stillaguamish Tribes in a 10-year program to rebuild the South Fork Nooksack River spring Chinook and Stillaguamish River fall Chinook stocks through a captive broodstock program. The fork length to the nearest mm and weight to the nearest gram of fish is recorded on an approximately annual basis.