Dr. Norma Jean Sands
Team Leader
Project Staff Directory
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The mission of the Salmon Harvest Team is to provide analytical and research support to management processes governed by the Council and the Pacific Salmon Treaty, and to the NMFS Northwest Regional Office. The Salmon Harvest Team consists of four members and includes researchers who actively work with management processes with State, Council, Pacific Salmon Commission, and Treaty Tribe staff. Members of the team also serve on Technical Review Teams for listed salmon ESUs.
In addition, team members conduct research into improving harvest management. Staff members collaborate with other researchers at the Center and at other institutions on salmon research relevant to a better understanding of salmon biology and ecology, which will aide in better management of this valuable renewable resource.
Current and planned research by the team focuses on how to better utilize information to manage salmon harvest, and includes:
- Coast wide review of Chinook stock escapement goals for harvest management: A recent goal of the Pacific Salmon Commission has been to standardize methodology for determining escapement goals. We are responding to this need by developing methods to describe and correct for bias in estimating stock-recruit relationships.
- Assessment model to incorporate GSI-based stock composition data: Development and expansion of genetic stock identification for Chinook is currently being funded through the Pacific Salmon Commission to improve stock identification for fishery catches. We have initiated collaboration with University of Washington researchers to develop and evaluate methods for utilizing these data.
- Risk assessment and rebuilding exploitation rate analyses for Puget Sound Chinook and chum: In collaboration with the NMFS Northwest Region, we are developing new methods of evaluating the biological effects of alternative exploitation rates on ESA listed species.
- Predicting coho abundance from environmental trends: In order to effectively set harvest regimes on Oregon coastal coho salmon and many other salmon stocks, information is needed about factors contributing to variation in freshwater and ocean survival rates. We are therefore continuing and initiating research to develop improved life-cycle models that incorporate environmental and climate variation.
- Juvenile Chinook survival in Puget Sound estuaries: Understanding the productivity of salmon at multiple life stages is important for production models used by harvest managers. We are currently working with the Fish Ecology Division and the Tulalip Tribe to collect data on how juvenile salmon make use of the estuary habitat.
- Climate variability and salmon abundance in the northeast Pacific: Understanding long term variations in salmon abundance is important to successful harvest management in order to adjust management to regimes of differing salmon abundance. Harvest Team staff are heading a multi-agency effort to reexamine the climate factors responsible for the basin-scale patterns of salmon production in the Northeast Pacific.
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