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December 27, 2024

Adult fall Chinook salmon. Photo: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

The importance of estuaries for adult salmon in Puget Sound

Next time you see a salmon moving upstream to spawn, consider the importance of estuaries. Estuaries, places where rivers and creeks mix with the waters of Puget Sound, help salmon adjust the ions (salts) in their bodies so they can safely make the transition from marine to fresh water. A new report by University of Washington scientist […]

March 28, 2024

Test tube labeled 'estrogen.'

Ask a scientist: Are human-derived hormones like estrogen harming fish in Puget Sound?

Hormones such as estrogens that humans create in their own bodies are entering Puget Sound through wastewater, raising concerns about their effects on fish and other wildlife. We spoke with Puget Sound Institute scientist Maya Faber about how environmental exposure to human-derived estrogen can alter the reproductive cycles of male and female fish. The effects […]

November 8, 2023

Puget Sound ecosystem holding on, but recovery remains uncertain, says latest status report

Efforts to restore ecological health to Puget Sound have largely failed to meet recovery goals, yet fish and wildlife populations are still hanging on, according to a new report that describes many struggling populations as neither increasing nor decreasing to a significant extent. The latest State of the Sound report, released last week by the […]

October 12, 2023

A no-death census year for Puget Sound’s orcas, with observations about a recent shift to more female births

For the first time since Census Year 1993, no deaths were reported this year among the Southern Resident killer whales, which frequent Puget Sound, according to the official census report. Two new births were reported among the whales, increasing the population from 73 to 75. I would also like to share some potentially hopeful information […]