From data to decisions: Navigating the “So What?” and “What’s Next?” conversation around nearshore data

Ever wonder what happens to all those data being collected? In Island County, we are fortunate to be the focus of a plethora of data collection efforts. We have comprehensive nearshore assessments that describe where our habitats are and how those habitats are built. We have habitat assessments that are a collaborative effort between citizen science groups and state agencies. We have long-term status and trends data sets on intertidal habitats and presence for a few specific species. We have a high resolution shoreline armor dataset and we have a predictive probability model for coastal flood risk. But what do we do with all of these data? What kind of information can be extrapolated from all this hard work? Most importantly, how is it helping us make a difference to our nearshore management? Island County’s Department of Natural Resources is working with our partners and committees to utilize this information to help guide and inform their decisions. We are finding that there are two broad categories of data sets – those that are most useful in informing decisions and those that are most useful in communication and outreach. We will discuss which sets fall into which category, and how we are working to evolve our datasets into useful next steps

Movements of sub-adult Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, in Puget Sound, Washington, as indicated by ultrasonic tracking

Salmonids show a wide variety of migration patterns. Such variation is especially prevalent in Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha. This species migrates to coastal and open ocean waters, and the tendency to use these different marine environments varies markedly among populations. For example, some Chinook salmon that enter Puget Sound do not migrate to the sea as juveniles in their first year but rather remain as “residents” through (at least) the following Spring. Known locally as blackmouth, these fish are the focus of extensive sport fisheries. In this study, we used acoustic telemetry to examine questions surrounding resident Chinook salmon in Puget Sound. The overall objective of this study was to determine the extent to resident and migratory behavior patterns are distinct or ends of a continuum of movement patterns, and then characterize the movements of resident fish. We first assessed the proportion of fish, caught and tagged as immature residents (inferred from the locations and dates of capture), that remained within Puget Sound and the proportion that moved to the coastal region, and tested the hypotheses that origin (wild or hatchery), location and season of tagging, fish size and condition factor would influence the tendency to remain resident. Second, we characterized the movements by resident fish with Puget Sound at a series of different spatial scales: movement among the major basins, travel rates, and areas of concentration within Puget Sound. Third, we tested the model of seasonal north-south movement patterns by examining the distribution of detections over the whole area and year. Because residents represent a significant portion of the Puget Sound Chinook salmon Evolutionarily Significant Unit, currently listed as Threatened under the U. S. Endangered Species Act, better understanding of their movements in Puget Sound will help identify critical habitat use patterns and evaluate fishery management objectives as the species crosses jurisdictional boundaries

How data on small salmon have big impacts, supporting recovery monitoring and informing policy decisions

Tribes and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) have been partnering for decades to monitor Puget Sound juvenile salmonid outmigration as part of the co-management commitment to rebuilding salmon populations that will support sustainable harvest for future generations, which is critical to addressing Treaty Rights. Juvenile salmon smolt trapping projects provide useful information on population abundance, productivity, and life-history diversity relevant to salmon conservation and management. Juvenile salmon outmigration studies continue in most major Puget Sound rivers, but projects are often funded, evaluated, and described individually by a variety of organizations. The goal of this panel discussion is to demonstrate the importance of juvenile productivity monitoring contributions to salmon recovery at multiple scales and for multiple purposes. This panel will bring together entities operating smolt traps to discuss how the data is used for their local management decisions and larger scale regional assessments of population dynamics. A recent project in the Puget Sound brought together smolt trap operators and their data to illustrate the network of these projects and discuss the monitoring similarities and differences. Chinook salmon freshwater and marine survival time series revealed shared trends among Puget Sound populations, while also demonstrating differences indicative of portfolio diversity. Each Tribe, agency and organization uses the data for watershed-specific management decisions while also contributing to larger regional analyses, research and policy decisions. The longevity of this monitoring effort could be appropriately used as a “vital sign” indicator of ecosystem health for marine and freshwater environments