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Since 2011, the Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program has released the annual Puget Sound Marine Waters Overview report. The latest report combines a wealth of data from comprehensive monitoring programs and provides a concise summary of what was happening in Puget Sound’s marine waters during 2024. The report represents the collective effort of contributors from federal, tribal, state, and local agencies, academia, nonprofits, and private and volunteer groups.

A 2025 state of the knowledge report provides a technical background to support informed decision making and recovery planning focused on the Marine Water Quality Vital Sign.

The Puget Sound Partnership, the state agency that leads the region’s collective effort to protect and restore Puget Sound, publishes the State of the Sound report every two years. The document reports on both the status of the Partnership's recovery efforts and a suite of ecosystem indicators referred to as the Puget Sound Vital Signs.

OverviewGray whales are among the more commonly sighted large whale species in the Salish Sea and along the coast of the Pacific Northwest, but a clearer understanding of the multiple ways they use our waters has only come into focus in recent years. Gray whales were historically mostly known for their annual migrations past the Washington Coast including the entrance to the Salish Se...

A 2025 report from the University of Washington Puget Sound Institute identifies and evaluates potential strategies for addressing environmental concerns over nutrients and dissolved oxygen in Puget Sound.

OverviewHumpback whales have made a remarkable recovery in Puget Sound and throughout the Salish Sea. While their numbers vary through the season, they can be seen in almost any month of the year. In essence, this has been a return to waters they formerly used prior to commercial whaling that wiped out the local population. Humpback whales around the world have made strong recoveries ...

The Puget Sound Water Quality Management Plan presented to the Washington State Governor and Legislature in January 1987 and adopted in September 1987.

The Puget Sound Water Quality Management Plan presented to the Washington State Governor and Legislature in November 1988 and adopted October 1989. This document includes information about the proposed creation of the 1991 Water Quality Management Plan.

The Puget Sound Water Quality Management Plan presented to the Washington State Governor and Legislature in January 1991; adopted in October 1991.