Pacific Herring spawning habitat: Survey of historical sites and gap analysis using remote sensing

Pacific Herring is a very important species in the Salish Sea. Its position in the food web gives it an environmental role, notably because it is one of the salmon’s important sources of food. Its economic and social role for British Columbians is also well known among fishermen and Native communities. However, the reproduction dynamic evolution and repartition over the past decades is not well understood. During those spawning events, the release of the male’s semen allows the use of satellite imagery to survey and quantify the spawning phenomenon. This project aims to develop a robust method to detect those events to better understand how herring population is distributed and how spawning has evolved, giving the Pacific Salmon Foundation a useful tool to assess herring presence in coastal waters.

Faculty Supervisor:

Maycira Costa

Student:

Partner:

Pacific Salmon Foundation

Discipline:

Earth science

Sector:

Agriculture; Other services (except public administration); Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

University of Victoria

Program: