Young herring ‘go with the older fish’ a key finding in Ocean Modeling Forum’s efforts

Puget Sound Institute lead ecosystem ecologist Tessa Francis was quoted in a recent article in UW News.

From UWT News Service:

“Young herring ‘go with the older fish’ a key finding in Ocean Modeling Forum’s efforts,” by Michelle Ma, UW News, May 29, 2019, http://www.washington.edu/news/2019/05/29/young-herring-go-with-the-older-fish-a-key-finding-in-ocean-modeling-forums-efforts/.

Tessa Francis is both the lead ecosystem ecologist at the Puget Sound Institute, housed at UW Tacoma’s Center for Urban Waters, and the managing director of the Ocean Modeling Forum (OMF), a science-collaboration group led by UW.

She is quoted in this story about new findings from the Ocean Modeling Forum’s ongoing study of Pacific herring, a species that is identified by the Puget Sound Partnership as a ‘vital sign’ for the health of the Salish Sea ecosystem.

In addition to the science findings—that herring instinctually find their way to spawning grounds by a process where younger fish follow older fish on their journeys to specific beaches—the story emphasizes how the OMF has broken new ground by convening scientists, commercial fishers, and First Nations and Indigenous stakeholders. The project specifically brings together “different approaches and knowledge—including traditional ecological knowledge” to rethink fisheries management practices.