Use of remote sensing data to define spatial-temporal salmon habitat status

The Salish Sea is a temporally and spatially dynamic coastal ocean under strong influence from terrestrial and oceanic inputs, and of major economic importance, due in part to fisheries. The Salish Sea is highly productive, especially from early spring to summer when resident and migratory fish
populations are either spawning or entering. The interannual productivity variability is suggested, among other factors, to contribute to the large variation in the salmon populations in the past 50 years, which have exhibited a general decline in the past decades. Further, juvenile salmon uses
nearshore habitats in the Salish Sea, specifically eelgrass meadows, for shelter and food source. The goal of this project is to determine the spatial-temporal ocean productivity and changes in the eelgrass habitats of the Salish Sea using remote sensing data to allow a better understanding of the
bottom-up processes that may influence juvenile salmon survival in the Salish Sea, and consequently improve fisheries management. TO BE CON’T

Faculty Supervisor:

Maycira Costa

Student:

Natasha Nahirnick

Partner:

Pacific Salmon Foundation

Discipline:

Geography / Geology / Earth science

Sector:

Fisheries and wildlife

University:

University of Victoria