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Contact: July 19, 2005 |
NMFS Northeast Regional Office N E W S
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Atlantic salmon are native to New England Rivers from Connecticut north to Canada. Industrial and agricultural development wiped out many Atlantic salmon populations in U.S. waters, and today remnant native populations can be found only in Maine. In 2000 this remaining native population was listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Kocik and other scientists working in Maine are tracking smolts (young salmon) to estimate the number of fish leaving the rivers and to determine how many make a successful transition to marine life. These studies are helping to determine where, when, and why young salmon die. With a better understanding of smolt mortality, fishery managers can develop plans to protect the remaining salmon and rebuild the population to a healthy level. Kocik will describe two current management programs that are being tested. One project is testing the hypothesis that changes in water quality (primarily pH) are compromising the health of smolts. In this project, scientists add calcium to rivers make the water less acidic and then track smolts to see if they are more successful in emigrating downstream and adapting to life in the ocean. Another project tests the hypothesis that avian predators (especially cormorants) are killing more smolts in estuaries than in the past. A team of scientists led by Kocik is working with the USDA to discourage cormorants from foraging in some steams and estuaries, and then measuring smolt survival rates in estuaries where the fish are protected. A native of Gloversville, New York, Kocik attended college at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh, earning a B.Sc. in Biology (1984). He earned his M.Sc. (1988) and Ph.D. (1992) in Fisheries and Wildlife Science at Michigan State University. He is an adjunct professor of fisheries at the University of Rhode Island and University of Massachusetts and serves on research faculty at University of Maine. He also serves on the United States Atlantic Salmon Assessment Committee and the Maine Technical Advisory Committee for Atlantic salmon.
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##### NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service is dedicated to protecting and preserving our nation’s living marine resources and their habitat through scientific research, management and enforcement. NOAA Fisheries provides effective stewardship of these resources for the benefit of the nation, supporting coastal communities that depend upon them, and helping to provide safe and healthy seafood to consumers and recreational opportunities for the American public. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation’s coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with our federal partners and nearly 60 countries to develop a global Earth observation network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects. On the Web: NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service * One Blackburn Drive* Gloucester, MA * 01930 |
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