All Articles

Graphic from 2009 report cover

2009 Puget Sound Georgia Basin Ecosystem Conference abstracts and biographies

The 2009 Puget Sound Georgia Basin Ecosystem Conference took place February 8–11, 2009 in Seattle, Washington.
Report cover

Oxygen for life: Understanding how low dissolved oxygen in Puget Sound affects marine ecosystems

A 2025 report from the University of Washington Puget Sound Institute compiles a series of articles and overviews describing the impacts of nutrients on dissolved oxygen in Puget Sound.
Cuvier's beaked whale surfacing and exhaling a visible blow of mist from its blowhole, with its pale body partially visible beneath the dark ocean water.

Cuvier's beaked whale

Cuvier’s beaked whales are the most commonly stranded beaked whale along the outer coasts of Oregon and Washington. Although typically a creature of deep water, beaked whales have been documented in the Salish Sea at least once in the last fifty years, although which species was swimming in Puget Sound was not clear.

Northern fur seals haul out on San Miguel Island in the Channel Islands, California - Photo: NOAA Fisheries/Kristin Wilkinson, NMFS Stranding Coordinator

Northern fur seal

Adult northern fur seals spend more than 300 days per year (about 80 percent of their time) at sea. During the summer and autumn they intermittently fast while on land and feed at sea. During the winter and spring they are pelagic, occupying the North Pacific Ocean as well as the Bering and Okhotsk Seas. Northern fur seals are considered rare in the Salish Sea, and there have been 93 confirmed
Two side by side photos. Left: a silvery fish in a wooden handled net at above the surface of clear water and stones. Right: Two hands with fingerless gloves holding a fish just above the water surface.

Bull trout and estuary use in Puget Sound

The following article describes how both adult and juvenile bull trout use estuaries in Puget Sound and includes text from two previously published overviews on the subject by University of Washington biologist Thomas P. Quinn.
The Snohomish estuary. (AdobeStock)

The role of estuaries in the ecology of Pacific salmon and trout in Puget Sound

Two comprehensive reports describe adult and juvenile salmonid use of estuaries in Puget Sound.
A fish with many small dark markings lying on its side in shallow water surrounded by fallen green, yellow, and brown leaves.

Coastal cutthroat trout and estuary use in Puget Sound

The following article describes how both adult and juvenile coastal cutthroat trout use estuaries in Puget Sound and includes text from two previously published overviews on the subject by University of Washington biologist Thomas P. Quinn.
Small, silvery fish placed against a ruler.

Pink salmon estuary use in Puget Sound

The following article describes how both adult and juvenile pink salmon use estuaries in Puget Sound and includes text from two previously published overviews on the subject by University of Washington biologist Thomas P. Quinn.
A close-up of a fish with several behind it in water behind glass.

Sockeye salmon estuary use in Puget Sound

The following article describes how both adult and juvenile sockeye salmon use estuaries in Puget Sound and includes text from two previously published overviews on the subject by University of Washington biologist Thomas P. Quinn.
Two fish in shallow water of a gravel river bed with a rocky shoreline in the background.

Chum salmon estuary use in Puget Sound

The following article describes how both adult and juvenile chum salmon use estuaries in Puget Sound and includes text from two previously published overviews on the subject by University of Washington biologist Thomas P. Quinn.