Salish Sea Currents magazine

Salish Sea Currents is an online magazine founded in 2014 focusing on the science of ecosystem recovery. Browse individual stories below or visit the Salish Sea Currents magazine homepage to see them organized by topical series.

We regularly compile stories into printed yearbooks intended as special reports for Puget Sound policymakers. These are also available for viewing as PDFs:

 

 

Related Articles

Image of dark blue ocean water surface overlaid with a light blue double helix graphic.

How eDNA is changing the way scientists track species in Puget Sound

Scientists can now identify the presence of species just by testing the water for traces of DNA. The relatively new technique is being compared to the invention of the telescope or the microscope as a significant new tool for understanding ecosystems like Puget Sound. It could be a revolution for tracking the movements of all kinds of species, from salmon and killer whales to invasive green crabs.
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An open motor boat sitting in sill water as to people place a fishing net across the channel.

A new beginning for threatened Chinook

The Stillaguamish River is home to what may be the most imperiled stock of Chinook salmon in all of Puget Sound. What scientists are learning here at the Stillaguamish estuary on Port Susan Bay could help turn the tide for these fish and other salmon around the region. E
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Residents and Bigg’s killer whales will be listed as subspecies by the Society for Marine Mammalogy. Here, in this 2013 photo, several southern residents pass by Seattle in Puget Sound. Photo: Candace Emmons, NOAA

All killer whales will remain one species — for now, according to marine mammal committee

A formal proposal to designate resident and Bigg’s killer whales as separate species has been rejected by a committee widely recognized as the authority in naming new marine mammal species.
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A group of black and white killer whales swimming in open water.

Decision time approaches for two new orca species, as other issues bring new questions

Scientists are making the case that the world's orcas should be divided into two new species. Voting for the proposed change was scheduled to take place last week at the Society for Marine Mammalogy. [Update: Read about the decision here.]
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Three people wearing chest waders walking on a mudflat with blue sky above.

Rare tidal marshes set the table for salmon recovery

Tidal wetlands are crucial to Chinook salmon recovery but are among the most threatened habitats in Puget Sound. In 2012, The Nature Conservancy began restoring a 150-acre section of tidal marsh on Port Susan Bay at the mouth of the Stillaguamish River. That project is entering a new phase and may soon connect with other adjacent restoration efforts put forth by the Stillaguamish Tribe.
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A chum salmon in spawning condition swimming in shallow water.

Hood Canal summer chum could be first-ever salmon removed from Endangered Species List

Summer chum salmon in Hood Canal are making a remarkable comeback. Could it be enough to support their removal from the Endangered Species List?
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