Forage fish
Eulachon
The eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus) is an important food source for many marine fish, birds and mammals throughout the Salish Sea. Historically it has been an important food source for many Native American tribes.
In March of 2010 the NOAA announced it will list the eulachon as Threatened under the US Endangered Species Act. This fish is also called the candlefish because it is packed with so many calories you can light a dried one like a candle.
For more information about the listing, download this pdf from NOAA, this question and answer pdf on the decision to list as Threatened, or visit the Eulachon page at the northwest office of NOAA Fisheries.
For another take, visit http://qmackie.wordpress.com/2010/03/31/vanishing-eulachon/.
Read about other species of concern in the Salish Sea.
We'd hoped to find a video of someone lighting a eulachon on fire, but couldn't...
(Photo shows an Alaskan eulachon. Photo by David Beatley, US Forest Service.)
Sand Lance video
Here's a video about sand lance spawning by Mark Plumberg of 5th Life Productions. As we mentioned in our recap of the forage fish needs assessment workshop, we know relatively little about the life cycle of sand lance and other forage fish. This video shows the spawning process in action. 16 minutes, but you don't have to watch all of it to see how cool these fish are.
Video (on YouTube)
2011 Forage Fish Needs Assessment Workshop
In January 2011, SeaDoc and the Northwest Straits Commission facilitated a meeting of 25 scientists and managers working on forage fish issues on both sides of the US/Canada border.
Forage fish are the small, energy-dense schooling fishes that feed other fish, birds and mammals in the Salish Sea. Some of these species that depend on forage fish are federally listed as endangered or threatened on one or both sides of the border. Unfortunately, there are major gaps in what we know about these important species.
Eulachon listed as Threatened species
In the March 17, 2010 Federal Register, NOAA listed the Eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus) as Threatened under the US Endangered Species Act. This fish, also called the candle fish because it is packed with so many calories you can light a dried one like a candle, is an important food source for many marine fish, birds and mammals. Historically it has been an important food source for many Native American tribes.
Interestingly, we don't have good data on Eulachon numbers in the Salish Sea. Unlike with herring, Washington State does not conduct quantitative stock assessments for eulachon, but it is believed that eulachon stocks have declined in the Columbia (WOEMP, 2001) and Elwha Rivers (Shaffer et al., 2007). In British Columbia, the Frasier River eulachon spawning stock biomass has collapsed and is at a precariously low level (DFO, 2007).
The listing of this species will hopefully ensure that more work is done to understand the natural history of this species in the Salish Sea so that we can ultimately restore the population.
Find out more about the listing of the eulachon at:
http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/Other-Marine-Species/Eulachon.cfm
SeaDoc is the only organization that tracks threatened or endangered species in the Salish Sea on an ecosystem-wide scale. Since 2002, we have been tracking "species of concern" as listed by Washington, British Columbia, the US Federal Government and the Canadian Federal Government.
Eulachon are listed as threatened (BLUE list) by BC, are candidates for listing in WA state, are Candidates under the Canadian COSEWIC with a status report expected this year, and were Candidates for listing under the US Federal ESA until now.
Download our PDF listing the species of concern and describing the listing processes (we publish this report every 2 years):
Gaydos and Brown, 2009
http://www.seadocsociety.org/files/pdfs/GB-PS_Species_of_Concern_2008%20...
What's the Deal with Rockfish and Seals?
Harbor seal populations have exploded nearly tenfold in the Salish Sea since the 1970s, while at the same time many rockfish species have plummeted. Some fishermen blame that on the increase in hungry seals. But coincidence is not science. So who ya gonna call?
In the second year, 12% of the samples contained rockfish remains, particularly in the winter when there are fewer salmon locally. With all the seals in the Salish Sea, those numbers could impact rockfish recovery. That doesn't mean, however, that we should start controlling seal populations: this study showed seals also have a taste for dogfish, another major fish predator. So fewer seals could mean more dogfish. The real answer is to remember that all parts of our ecosystem are tightly intertwined. Rockfish recovery depends upon ecosystem recovery, including salmon recovery, herring recovery and so on around the Sea.
More information on this topic:
- The original report on this study (so you can see what we've learned since the first round)
- The Puget Sound Partnership's resource page on rockfish.
- SeaDoc's comments on the proposed (12/2009) rockfish conservation plan by the WA Dept of Fish & Wildlife.
- All the info on our site about rockfish (automatic search)
- All the info on the site about predator/prey relationships (automatic search)
(You can do these last two searches yourself by choosing "browse by species" or "browse by issue" from the Salish Sea menu at left.)
Here's a video (aimed at kids) that gives a behind-the-scenes look at how this kind of research is done.
Herring Spawn: nutritious fast food in danger?
A recent SeaDoc-funded project has revealed how important herring spawn can be for species like migratory waterfowl. Eric Anderson, Jim Lovvorn and others studying the role of herring spawn in the diet of surf and white-winged scoters found that these birds aggregate to feed on herring spawn whenever it is available.
