The Ecology of Forage Fish in the Salish Sea

Tessa Francis University of Washington Tacoma

Puget Sound Institute

Ole Shelton Phil Levin

Greg Williams NOAA Fisheries

Pacific  herring  Clupea  pallasii  

Surf  smelt  Hypomesus  pre/osus  

Sand  lance  Ammodytes  hexapterus    

photo  by  Ground  Truth  Trekking  

Meet  the  fish.  

NOAA  Fisheries  West  Coast  

NOAA  Fisheries  West  Coast  

BRANDON COLE / WWW.BRANDONCOLE.COM! Redorbit.com!

The mysterious decline of !Puget Sound herring!

Forage  fish  are  more  valuable  in  the  water  than  out.  

Harbor  Seals:  80%  

Chinook  salmon:  80%

   

Lingcod:  95%  

Orcas  

Rhinoceros  auklet:  70%  

Marbled  murrelet:  60%  

TuGed  puffin    

Photo  by  Peter  Hodum  

Forage  fish  are  30-­‐60  Lmes  more  valuable  in  the  water  

Source:  DFW  2008,  TCW  Economics;  LenFest  Forage  Fish  Task  Force  Report  

Direct  value   SupporLve  value  

$25  million  $0.4  –  0.8  million  

Photo  by  Madeline  Stevens  

Key  Indicators  of  Ecosystem  Health  Food  web  connec*ons  

Forage  fish  

Zooplankton  

Phytoplankton  

Predators  

Vilchis  et  al.  2014  ConservaGon  Biology  

Key  Indicators  of  Ecosystem  Health  Human  impacts  

Shoreline  development  Contaminants/pollutants  Water  quality  

Human  AcLviLes  

Key  Indicators  of  Ecosystem  Health  Human  wellbeing  

Psychological  wellbeing  Sense  of  place  Cultural  tradi/ons    

Human  Wellbeing  

Part  Deux  

Cherry  Point  herring  Recent  research  and  findings  

0

3,000

6,000

9,000

12,000

15,000

18,000

1973 1978 1983 1988 1993 1998 2003 2008 2013 2018

TON

S Puget Sound Herring Abundance

No  change  

Decrease  Increase  

Eelgrass  bed  trends  (2004-­‐2009)    

33%  of    shoreline  altered  

25%  of    shoreline  armored  

2005-­‐2010  Rate  of  new  armoring:  1.8  km/yr  

Does  the  road  to  herring  recovery  go  through  eelgrass?  

Rodger  Jackman/  geVyimages.com  

1.  Which spawning habitat is the highest quality?

2.  Are herring limited by the amount of this high quality habitat?

Puget  Sound  Herring    Spawning  Sites  

1.  Egg  Loss  on  spawning  habitat      

2.  Egg  survival  in  the  lab  

P.  Hillman  

Eelgrass is not the only quality spawning habitat.!

Pro

babi

lity

of h

atch

ing

Shelton  et  al.  MEPS  In  Press  

Why does egg loss vary across Puget Sound?!What are the sources of egg loss?!

Pro

babi

lity

of h

atch

ing

Shelton  et  al.  MEPS  In  Press  

Pro

porti

on h

atch

ed

Pro

porti

on h

atch

ed

Proportion armored shoreline

Proportion impervious surface

Why does egg loss vary by site?!What are the sources of egg loss?!

Egg

loss

rate

Mean wave weight (m)

cage    no  cage  

Prop

orGo

n  of  Eggs  L

ost  

Experimental  Treatment  

eelgrass  

Sargassum  mu/cum  Zostera  marina  

sargassum  

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−123.2 −123.0 −122.8 −122.6 −122.4Longitude

Latit

ude

Cherry Point 1976

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48.6

48.7

48.8

48.9

49.0

49.1

−123.2 −123.0 −122.8 −122.6 −122.4Longitude

Latit

ude

Cherry Point 2012

Eelgrass   Sargassum   Red  branched  algae  

Photo  by  Madeline  Stevens  

We  do  know  habitat  ma]ers  

•  Herring  populaGon  is  2x  more  stable  because  of  habitat  diversity.    

 •  Shoreline  development  degrades  

forage  fish  spawning  habitat.  •  Higher  egg  mortality  •  Higher  temperatures  •  Loss  of  fresh  sediment  supply  

What  acLons  are  we  taking?  

•  Puget  Sound  InsLtute  has  convened  a  panel  of  forage  fish  experts  to  fill  key  informaGon  gaps  using  exisGng  data.  

•  Puget  Sound  Partnership  is  tracking  Pacific  herring  as  an  indicator  of  ecosystem  health.    

•  Puget  Sound  Ecosystem  Monitoring  Program  has  prioriGzed  measuring  sand  lance  and  surf  smelt  abundance.    

•  Dept  of  Fish  &  Wildlife  is  taking  a  precauGonary  approach  with  fisheries  management.    

•  Dept  of  Fish  &  Wildlife  requires  HPA  permit  to  develop  shorelines.  

Thank  you.