International Year of the Salmon

The North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission (NPAFC) is a collaboration of five countries in the Pacific region that will embark on a research mission to study salmon this year. Four research vessels and over sixty scientists and crew members, the largest of its kind, will embark on this expedition to better understand how salmon migrate in the Pacific Ocean. 

Members of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will participate as well as members from Alaska's Department of Fish & Game. The hope is that the expedition will be able to better understand the effects of climate variability on salmon. 

“This is an exciting time for salmon science! For the first time in decades, international cooperation across the North Pacific will provide an invaluable snapshot of salmon distributions, their health, and their environmental conditions in these times of changing climate. I expect these results will be foundational as we also begin a much larger study under the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science.”--Dr. Brian Riddell, Science Advisor, Pacific Salmon Foundation.

For more information on this expedition, visit their website here. 

Photo: yearofthesalmon.org

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