Your spring donation is unlocking the mystery of salmon survival at sea.
Each spring, juvenile salmon enter the ocean and face one of the most critical life phases. Many do not survive this transition, and until now, it has been difficult to understand why. With your support, PSF scientists are using innovative tagging and sampling techniques to pull back the curtain and track salmon health, diet, and environmental stressors in real time.
This research is beginning to reveal what drives survival, helping us connect ocean conditions to returning fish and turn knowledge into targeted, effective recovery actions. Every fish sampled brings us closer to understanding what drives survival. Our scientists build on this data season by season, and there is no way to go back and fix gaps in monitoring.
PSF is working to raise $35,000 this spring to continue critical marine research without interruption. We need your help to reach this goal!
Moving from observation to action.
As new insights emerge—whether related to habitat needs, food availability, competition, or predation—PSF can act strategically to improve survival outcomes. Early findings are already showing encouraging trends, giving hope that science-driven recovery can make a real difference. With consistent and detailed monitoring, we can more effectively identify levers to pull that can promote salmon survival in the marine environment.
Restoring Habitat
If we observe that poor summer growth leads to high winter mortality, we can prioritize restoration of estuary habitat, giving young salmon the food and shelter they need during a vulnerable transition.
Aligning Hatcheries
If we find that competition during the early marine period is limiting growth, we can work with partners to align hatchery production with ecosystem capacity.
Bolstering Herring
If we continue to learn that access to forage fish improves survival, we can direct funding to herring recovery and protection of their spawning habitats.
Deterring Predators
If we discover that predation pressure in a specific area is a significant source of mortality, we can work on targeted, science-based predator management.