NOAA
type: Concept

DOC/NOAA/NMFS/NWFSC
type: Concept
change note: 2018-02-06 14:31:59.0 [tstevens] update Resource (https://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/);
change note: 2018-02-06 14:31:09.0 [tstevens] update AltLabel (Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce); update Resource (provider);
in scheme: providers
definition: The Northwest Fisheries Science Center studies living marine resources (e.g., salmon, groundfish, and killer whales) and their habitats in the Northeast Pacific Ocean-primarily off the coasts of Washington and Oregon and in freshwater rivers and streams in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. The Center seeks to better understand living marine resources and their ecosystems to assist resource managers in making sound decisions that build sustainable fisheries, recover endangered and threatened species, and sustain healthy ecosystems, and reduce human health risks. The Center’s 500 scientists and staff conduct research in 5 primary areas: Status of Stocks Stock assessments monitor the state or health of a fish stock. Center scientists conduct and coordinate stock assessments for West Coast groundfish and salmon stocks in the Pacific Northwest by taking a variety of measurements (e.g., data from fishing vessel catch or landings, scientific surveys, observers stationed on fishing vessels, and life history studies), analyzing the data, and using mathematical models to draw conclusions from the results. Stock assessments provide the basis for identifying overfished and threatened stocks, guiding and monitoring rebuilding of overfished stocks, and forecasting biologically sustainable harvest levels for healthy stocks. Human Caused Stress/Risks Humans affect the environment around them and as a result living marine resources in the Pacific Northwest face a number of risks from toxic chemicals in sediments to hydropower systems to physically degraded habitats. Each different life stage (e.g., egg, juvenile, or adult) and species is affected differently. Center scientists are conducting research to better understand how salmon, marine fish, and marine mammals react to these stresses and to quantify, assess, and minimize these risks. The Center's research provides the underpinning for national, state, and tribal management decisions (including how to minimize the impacts o…