OSU research helps fishermen target healthy stocks of salmon

OSU researchers are using DNA profiles to help fishermen locate healthy salmon stocks and avoid endangered ones.

Income generated by the west coast ocean salmon industry in 2010 was the third-lowest on record, and recent large closures to commercial salmon fisheries jeopardized industry and community vitality. Such lengthy closures could be avoided if up-to-the-moment data were available to distinguish stocks at sea.

Through the Collaborative Research on Oregon Ocean Salmon (CROOS) project, OSU researchers used genetic fingerprints to determine locations of weak stocks and healthy stocks.  They've found patterns suggesting that fish from certain rivers move in "pulses" through the ocean. This kind of real-time tracking will help fisheries managers direct fishing toward robust populations of salmon and away from endangered stocks.

OSU Extension worked with fishery managers to train Oregon and California fishermen in new data-collection methods, including first-ever catch-and-release methods in closed areas, to record the exact location of salmon stocks at sea. More than 400 commercial fishers participated in CROOS sampling, receiving over $1 million in compensation.

Source: Collaborative Research on Oregon Ocean Salmon project