Puget Sound Institute

09/14/2026

The 15th annual Marine Waters Overview produced by the PSEMP Marine Waters Workgroup is out. In general, 2025 was warmer, drier, saltier, and had less abundant biota. Check out highlights or dive into the details of the new report.
It provides a perspective of Puget Sound marine health based on monitoring and observing programs of marine waters of greater Puget Sound as well as the influence of large-scale climate conditions along the Washington coast. Understanding regional drivers of variability and patterns over time helps researchers better tease out human effects from natural variations and change.
https://www.eopugetsound.org/article/puget-sound-marine-waters-2025-overview

09/09/2026

September 10 workshop: Impact of oxygen and temperature on Puget Sound marine life

The Puget Sound Institute is excited to continue the Science of Puget Sound Water Quality workshop series, which explores emerging science and insights to help protect water quality in Puget Sound. Join us for a discussion of new research on how warming waters and low oxygen may impact habitat for Dungeness crabs, English sole, and Chinook salmon. Drs. Tim Essington and Stefano Mazzilli will present the latest methods and results.

Workshop date and time: Thursday, September 10 from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM (PT).

This online event is free, but registration is required.
https://washington.zoom.us/meeting/register/NHdtWzYDR6SRWAsbUOf5JQ #/registration

09/03/2026

A great opportunity!

WE’RE HIRING!

Are you a collaborative leader who is passionate about protecting and restoring Puget Sound? Are you strongly focused on science? Do you know your Chinook from your chum?

Then the Puget Sound Partnership’s Science and Evaluation Director role might be for you!

As the Science and Evaluation Director, you’ll set the strategic direction for a multidisciplinary program spanning ecosystem monitoring, research, evaluation, social science, salmon recovery, and adaptive management. You’ll help determine the research, monitoring, and evaluation activities required to measure progress towards ecosystem recovery goals.

Sound like the position for you? Then join other like-minded people working to advance the health and recovery of Puget Sound.

Learn more and apply through the State of Washington careers page: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/washington/jobs/5464388/science-evaluation-director-ems-band-3

09/02/2026

Witness an extraordinary challenge as Chinook salmon pass through the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks in Ballard. They must:

Climb the fish ladder
Adjust to shifts in temperature, salinity, and oxygen
Swim upstream
Spawn

How do they do it? Hint: ESTUARIES. Learn more. https://tinyurl.com/salmon-and-estuaries

Photo: Chinook salmon at Hiram Chittenden Locks by Thomas M. Quinn.

08/28/2026

Now is the time to witness a momentous occasion: fall migration of Chinook salmon. Many Chinook are returning from their ocean sojourns north as far as Alaska and south into Oregon. But did you know that a portion of Chinook salmon in Puget Sound never leave for the ocean at all?
These so called “residents” complete their entire marine life in Puget Sound estuaries near the mouths of rivers that enter Elliott Bay including the Duwamish River. In fact, according to University of Washington biologist Thomas Quinn, the “resident” portion is so large it may account for the majority of Chinook in Puget Sound. Estuaries provide important feeding habitat for young and mature chinook alike.

To learn more about the critical role of estuaries in the life juvenile and adult Chinook in Puget Sound, check out our report written by Quinn.

https://www.eopugetsound.org/article/chinook-salmon-and-estuary-use-in-puget-sound

08/19/2026

Check out the new Shore Friendly Synthesis report by Puget Sound Institute's Aimee Kinney and Sydney Fishman of Washington Sea Grant. It includes a comprehensive executive summary. Download the report at https://www.eopugetsound.org/article/synthesis-shore-friendly-program-2019-2025

08/11/2026

How much does low oxygen reduce habitat for species in Puget Sound? A new report from the Puget Sound Institute and the UW School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences measures habitat compression species by species — for Dungeness crab, English sole, and Chinook salmon.

Researchers used a metric called the metabolic index, which accounts for both oxygen levels and water temperature, to model habitat compression for three case studies: Dungeness crab, English sole, and Chinook salmon. The approach goes beyond the standard hypoxia threshold, which doesn't hold equally for every species — salmon need more oxygen than that threshold assumes, while crabs can tolerate less of it in cold water than in warm.

The findings: nutrient pollution from human sources is responsible for a real but comparatively small share of the habitat species lose to low oxygen, even during the worst conditions of the year. But the effects aren't evenly spread — Hood Canal stands out as a location where both Chinook salmon and Dungeness crab lose a substantial share of their habitat on their worst days.

Read the full story in Salish Sea Currents: https://tinyurl.com/low-oxygen-case-studies

07/31/2026

Just after this week's southern resident orca census news, here's another look at these endangered whales — this time, after dark.

"There's no rest for these endangered whales. They are attempting to find food day and night."

That's NOAA Fisheries Service biologist Marla Holt, describing new research that offers the first published look at what southern resident killer whales do after dark. Researchers attached acoustic recording tags to 10 whales and found they're diving and hunting almost as much at night as during the day.
But not evenly. Females are far less likely to attempt a catch at night than during the day, and the drop-off is stark: on deep dives, females had an 88% probability of attempting a catch during the day, but just 21% at night. The findings add to earlier evidence that vessel noise disrupts female foraging more than males' during the day, reinforcing the case for measures that reduce daytime vessel traffic noise in the Salish Sea.

Full story, video of a tagging in action, and audio of orca echolocation clicks: https://tinyurl.com/orcasatnight

07/30/2026

Southern resident orca population up by two? Pending one final check, it appears that this year’s census of the endangered southern resident killer whale population will show a positive increase of two orcas — an annual increase equaled only four times in the past 20 years. Check out Salish Sea Currents to learn more about results of the annual orca census conducted by the Center for Whale Research.

https://www.eopugetsound.org/article/annual-census-could-show-increase-two-killer-whales-among-southern-residents

07/20/2026

Untangling chemical names and looking back over 200 years of 6PPD history

The tire chemical 6PPD is known worldwide for its deadly effect on salmon, but it also has a complex history. Our senior writer Christopher Dunagan looks back at the chemical's origins, from its connection to a life-saving malaria drug to its ever-present use as a rubber preservative.

https://www.eopugetsound.org/article/history-and-chemical-structure-tire-chemical-6ppd-q