Fisheries Program
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Our fisheries researchers are world-class scientists. They conduct cutting-edge research to provide fisheries resource managers the scientific information they need to protect, restore, and enhance our Nation’s fisheries and their habitats.
Imperiled Species Research
Forty percent of all fish species in North America are at risk of extinction. USGS research is crucial to protect and manage at-risk species and healthy fish populations into the future.
Learn MoreDrought and Ecological Flows
As part of the USGS Fisheries program, ecological flows, or the relationships between quality, quantity, and timing of water flows and ecological response of aquatic biota and ecosystems; and related ecosystem services are being investigated.
Find Out MoreFisheries Research
USGS scientists study life history, population ecology, and conservation and restoration strategies for aquatic species and the habitats that sustain them.
Aquatic Ecosystem Conservation
Advanced Tools and Technologies
Learn moreNews
Water managers explore new strategies to protect fish in California’s Bay Delta
The water in the Delta arrives primarily from the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, supplying water for more than 22 million people. This water source supports California’s trillion-dollar economy—the sixth largest in the world—and its $27 billion agricultural industry.
USGS Study Reveals Interactive Effects of Climate Change, Invasive Species on Native Fish
A new USGS study shows non-native Brown Trout can place a burden on native Brook Trout under the increased water temperatures climate change can cause.
In Orlando, USGS Science on the Health of the Environment is on Display
Studies on the aquatic food web, tree swallows, and the spread of contaminants take center stage at SETAC 2016.
Publications
Review of trap-and-haul for managing Pacific salmonids (Oncorhynchus spp.) in impounded river systems
High-head dams are migration barriers for Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. in many river systems and recovery measures for impacted stocks are limited. Trap-and-haul has been widely used in attempts to facilitate recovery but information from existing programs has not been synthesized to inform improvements to aid recovery of salmonids...
Kock, Tobias; Ferguson, John W.; Keefer, Matthew L.; Schreck , Carl B.
Fish assemblages in eelgrass beds of Bellingham Bay, Washington, Northern Puget Sound, 2019
Puget Sound is a critical part of the Pacific Northwest, both culturally and economically. Eelgrass beds are an important feature of Puget Sound and are known to influence fish assemblages. As part of a larger site-characterization effort, and to gain a better understanding of the fish assemblages in Bellingham Bay, Washington, four eelgrass beds...
Andrews, Morgan I.; Liedtke, Theresa L. Shifting food web structure during dam removal—Disturbance and recovery during a major restoration action
We measured food availability and diet composition of juvenile salmonids over multiple years and seasons before and during the world’s largest dam removal on the Elwha River, Washington State. We conducted these measurements over three sediment-impacted sections (the estuary and two sections of the river downstream of each dam) and compared these...
Morley, Sarah A.; Foley, Melissa M; Duda, Jeffrey J.; Beirne, Mathew M; Paradis, Rebecca L; Johnson, Rachelle Carina; McHenry, Michael L.; Elofson, Mel; Sampson, Earnest M; McCoy, Randall E; Stapleton, Justin; Pess, George R.