The U.S. Navy conducts military training and testing in Pacific Northwest range areas to prepare combat-ready military forces, whereas NOAA Fisheries is responsible for managing threatened and endangered species in marine waters and providing permits to the U.S. Navy. NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. Navy share the common goals of minimizing the impact of military training and testing activities on endangered species without compromising training and testing efforts and reducing adverse environmental effects. This work provides vital geographic and distributional data within the Navy’s range areas, allowing the Navy the flexibility to proceed with training and testing while providing protective measures for both salmonids and killer whales. This research jointly studied Chinook salmon and Southern Resident killer whales (SRKW) in the Northwest Training and Testing (NWTT study area) Range. The authors used acoustic telemetry to map salmon behavior and overlap with SRKW occurrence. By tracking Chinook salmon, SRKW's primary prey, the project aims to guide actions to conserve both species. The data will help adjust activities to minimize harm to these protected species. From May to September 2023, 101 Chinook salmon were caught, tagged, and released north of the Columbia River near the Washington Coast. Acoustic transmitters were surgically implanted into the fish, allowing them to be detected by stationary receivers deployed in the ocean, estuaries, and nearby rivers. The fish's locations and movements were recorded and used to Submitted in Support of the U.S. Navy’s 2023 Annual Marine Species Monitoring Report for the Pacific STANDARD FORM 298 Back (Rev. 8/98) assess their spatial distribution and behavior. SRKW detections were also collected from March to October 2023 at 15 passive acoustic moorings on the Washington coast. These acoustic moorings, in combination with the 69 kHz receivers, are currently in operation. All but one of the salmon tagged so far were Snake River spring/summer Chinook ESU and the remaining Chinook origin is yet to be determined. Tasks the are still to be completed include tagging an estimated 60 Chinook salmon and analyzing concurrently collected SRKW data. Spring-run Chinook salmon that are returning to the Columbia River are b

The information about Chinook salmon gained in this study may be used to provide insights into important management issues in the North Pacific Ocean, including overlap between Chinook salmon and Navy training exercises in the GOA.

The information about Chinook salmon gained in this study may be used to provide insights into important management issues in the North Pacific Ocean, including overlap between Chinook salmon and Navy training exercises in the GOA.

Chinook salmon is an iconic species found throughout the North Pacific Ocean, yet little is known about its ocean ecology. The U.S. Navy conducts training exercises in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) Temporary Maritime Activities Area (TMAA), and Western Maneuver Area (WMA). The Navy is interested in understanding the overlap of occurrence between populations of Chinook salmon and these training activities. To provide insights into Chinook salmon ocean ecology while occupying waters of the North Pacific Ocean (NPO), including overlap with the TMAA and WMA, we have previously deployed 183 pop-up satellite archival tags (PSATs) on Chinook salmon at eight locations around the GOA, and collected tissue samples to determine stock of origin of tagged fish. These analyses will provide additional insights into movement, depth distribution, temperature occupancy, and natural mortality of Chinook salmon in the North Pacific Ocean, particularly to the west of previous tag deployments.

Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) is an iconic species found throughout the North Pacific Ocean (NPO) and supports valuable subsistence, commercial and recreational fisheries. In addition to its importance to fisheries, Chinook salmon is an important food source for many apex marine predators, including endangered Southern Resident killer whales (Orcinus orca). Currently, coast-wide changes in Chinook salmon population demographics and production have been documented from western Alaska to California, including several Evolutionarily Significant Units (ESUs) from the United States (U.S.) Pacific Northwest (PNW) that are protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). The U.S. Navy (Navy) conducts at-sea training in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA), including in the Temporary Maritime Activities Area (TMAA) and the Western Maneuver Area (WMA). As part of its Marine Species Monitoring Program, the Navy is interested in understanding the overlap of occurrence between populations of Chinook salmon, particularly the ESUs that are listed under the ESA, and specific Navy training activities. This is challenging, as relatively little is known about the at-sea distribution and behavior of Chinook salmon, despite the fact that most individuals reside in the ocean for the majority of their lives. Therefore, an improved understanding of the distribution and behavior of Chinook salmon in the marine environment is important when addressing potential interactions between this species and specific Navy exercises within portions of the TMAA and WMA.

Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) is an iconic species found throughout the North Pacific Ocean and supports valuable subsistence, commercial and recreational fisheries. In addition to its importance to fisheries, Chinook salmon is an important food source for many apex marine predators, including endangered Southern Resident killer whales (Orcinus orca). Currently, coast-wide changes in Chinook salmon population demographics and production have been documented from western Alaska to California, including several Evolutionarily Significant Units (ESUs) from the United States (U.S.) Pacific Northwest (PNW) that are protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA).

We construct the first coastwide state-space model for fall Chinook salmon tagged fish released from California to British Columbia between 1977 and 1990 to estimate seasonal ocean distribution along the west coast of North America.

The Northwest Fisheries Science Center is currently conducting a study to characterize the occurrence of Chinook salmon within the Northwest Training and Testing area (NWTT).

The Northwest Fisheries Science Center is currently conducting a study to characterize the occurrence of Chinook salmon within the Northwest Training and Testing area (NWTT).

The migration route and timing of Chinook salmon along the coast of Washington State is not well understood. To determine when and where Chinook salmon of different genetic stocks enter and transit through the U.S. Navy Northwest Training and Testing Area (NWTT), we tagged 298 maturing adult salmon across five locations throughout the Gulf of Alaska.

This study aims to improve the understanding of the extent to which bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus), a threatened species, exhibit anadromous behavior or migrate between freshwater and saltwater environments, between coastal rivers on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state and adjacent to the Navy’s Northwest Training and Testing (NWTT) Study Area

Three acoustic tag glider deployments were conducted in Washington's (WA) coastal portion of the Northwest Training and Testing (NWTT) Study Area between September 2019 and June 2020. This survey was conducted with funding from the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet to determine the utility of glider-based acoustic tag detection in a highly mobile fish, Chinook salmon. The primary objective was to expand the detection range of a U.S. Navy-funded stationary, moored acoustic tag receiver array by extending the detection beyond the shelf edge and in other deeper locations, such as marine canyons where the moored acoustic receiver units were not feasible to deploy.

The migration route and timing of Chinook salmon along the coast of Washington State is not well understood. To determine when and where Chinook salmon of different genetic stocks enter and transit through the U.S. Navy Northwest Training and Testing Area (NWTT) we tagged 298 maturing adult salmon across five locations throughout the Gulf of Alaska.

The Northwest Fisheries Science Center is currently conducting a study to characterize the occurrence of Chinook salmon within the Northwest Training and Testing area (NWTT).

The Northwest Fisheries Science Center is currently conducting a study to characterize the occurrence of Chinook salmon within the Northwest Training and Testing area (NWTT).

The Southern distinct population segment (sDPS) of green sturgeon Acipenser medirostris is federally listed as a threatened species under the United States (U.S.) Endangered Species Act (ESA). Large aggregations of both the Northern distinct population segment (nDPS) and sDPS of green sturgeon can be found congregating in Washington’s coastal estuaries mid-summer. This provides a unique opportunity to capture and study this elusive species. Existing telemetric data indicates that these fish make long migrations along the Pacific Coast with a possible year-round presence in near-shore marine waters along Washington and Oregon’s coastline. The U.S. Navy is interested in the occurrence of the threatened sDPS of green sturgeon in the Northwest Training and Testing (NWTT) study area (offshore of Washington, Oregon, and northern California).