A new study shows that increased populations of seals and sea lions are eating far more of Puget Sound’s threatened Chinook than previously known, potentially hampering recovery efforts for both salmon and endangered killer whales. Read the story in Salish Sea Currents.
December 19, 2016
Year in review: 2016
This year has been as busy as any we have had since our founding in 2010. As we look forward to year seven (!) of our organization, we have put together a sort of highlight reel of accomplishments. At various points, PSI scientists worked to prioritize emerging contaminants in our waterways. We studied the health of […]
September 28, 2016
Marine Waters report provides overview of 2015 conditions in Puget Sound
The Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program released its fifth annual Marine Waters Report today. The report provides an assessment of marine conditions for the year 2015 and includes updates on water quality as well as status reports for select plankton, seabirds, fish and marine mammals. According to the report, water temperatures broke records throughout Puget […]
January 6, 2016
The question of unpermitted shoreline armoring in Puget Sound
Last year, we reported on an exciting trend related to shoreline armoring in Puget Sound. For the first time, state agencies actually noted a decrease in new armoring in which removal of these controversial beach structures outpaced new permits for development. That was good news for state and federal agencies trying to reverse more than 100 […]
December 3, 2015
PSI Director talks climate with News Tribune
Puget Sound Institute Director Joel Baker was interviewed by the The News Tribune in Tacoma this week as part of the paper’s coverage of climate change in Puget Sound. The article features a new University of Washington report commissioned by the Puget Sound Institute that provides the most comprehensive look to date at expected climate impacts in the […]
November 17, 2015
New report details the broad sweep of climate change in Puget Sound
A new report commissioned by the Puget Sound Institute and the Encyclopedia of Puget Sound provides the most comprehensive assessment to date of the expected impacts of climate change on the Puget Sound region. The report was produced by the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group, and is meant as an easy-to-read summary that covers […]
November 2, 2015
State report says lack of funding is a major barrier to Puget Sound recovery
The 2015 State of the Sound report from the Puget Sound Partnership points to lack of funding as one of the leading barriers to Puget Sound recovery. The report looks at ongoing progress to restore the health of the ecosystem, but according to the Partnership’s Executive Director Sheida Sahandy, “The rate at which we as […]
August 10, 2015
Assessing microplastics in the world’s oceans
Our Director Joel Baker recently co-authored Microplastics in the Ocean: A Global Assessment, an international report commissioned by GESAMP (The Joint Group of Experts on Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection). GESAMP is an inter-Agency Body of the United Nations, comprised of a group of independent scientists providing advice to UN Agencies on a wide variety of […]
April 21, 2014
Where it all started
Before it was SSEC14, it was the Puget Sound Research Conference. It was 1988, the cold war was still in swing and researchers in Seattle were gathering for the very first science conference dedicated to the waters of Puget Sound. Check out research priorities then and now. Download a complete collection of past Salish Sea […]
April 10, 2014
Socio-cultural values associated with salmon in the Quinault Indian Nation
A 2014 report from the Puget Sound Institute describes a study of socio-cultural values associated with blueback salmon in the Quinault Indian Nation. The blueback salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) is a unique strain of sockeye that returns primarily to the Quinault river system. The report was prepared by Kelly Biedenweg and Sophia Amberson of the University of […]