Alaska Salmon Program - FRI

Alaska Salmon Program - FRI We are a research program based at the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences at the University of Washington. Check out our website for for information.

aka Fisheries Research Insitute (FRI) - we study the basic and applied ecology of Pacific salmon in watersheds of SW AK, as well as the biological and socioeconomic management of the Bristol Bay salmon fishery. Our faculty, students, and staff focus on the ecology and evolution Pacific salmonids, interactions between salmon and resident fishes, lake biology and ecology.

This Friday! Please join us for our annual Science Symposium: De...
12/01/2025

This Friday! Please join us for our annual Science Symposium: December 5, 2025

FSH 102 (1122 NE Boat St, Seattle, UW Campus)

2:30-5:00pm

This annual symposium showcases the research of the UW School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences’ Alaska Salmon Program students, staff, faculty, and collaborators. Participants will give brief talks sharing their research in both basic and applied ecology, as well as the biological and socioeconomic management of Alaskan fisheries.

**Undergrads who may be interested in the FISH 491 course (Aquatic Ecological Research in Alaska, offered next in Summer 2026) or upper division undergrads and grad students considering FISH 497 (Management of Pacific Salmon in Alaska, offered next in Summer 2027), this is a great opportunity to familiarize yourself with our research program!
A schedule of speakers will be added to our website soon! alaskasalmonprogram.org/2025-science-symposium/

Even though the watersheds we work in are dominated by sockeye salmon, we occasionally focus our efforts on other specie...
08/24/2025

Even though the watersheds we work in are dominated by sockeye salmon, we occasionally focus our efforts on other species. Since ~2008 we’ve sampled multiple streams for juvenile coho, recording their length, the temperatures of their habitat, and collecting diet samples. In many streams, juvenile coho are found in slow, warm backwater habitat with few other species. In other streams, particularly warmer one, the coho are found in the main channel, sharing space with rainbow trout and arctic char. Coho grow faster when sockeye eggs are available to them, and those in warmer streams grow faster than those in colder habitats. Previous research by showed that these small fish, 80-120mm, will swim multiple kilometers round trip within a single stream to eat sockeye eggs available in the cold main channel, then move back upstream to a warmer tributary to rapidly digest their meal, only to turn back around and do it again!

Lots of signs of recent bear activity while doing a survey of Hansen Creek today. In addition to these fresh kills and l...
08/09/2025

Lots of signs of recent bear activity while doing a survey of Hansen Creek today. In addition to these fresh kills and large bear kitchens, we noticed wet paths on many gravel bars, indicating a bear was likely not far ahead of us. We didn’t see any bears today, but it’ll be interesting to check the game cameras and see if any bears were using the stream just ahead of us! The total sockeye return to Hansen Creek this year looks like it’ll be right around 4000 spawners, much lower than last years run of 19000, but well within the normal range. Hansen has a pretty predictable ~3-4 year cycle with one big year (2014, 2018, 2021, 2024) followed by 2-3 years of lower spawning runs.

Sampling is in full swing at the Alaska Salmon Program research stations in southwest Alaska. Technicians and interns a...
07/18/2025

Sampling is in full swing at the Alaska Salmon Program research stations in southwest Alaska. Technicians and interns are collecting zooplankton and water samples for chlorophyll analysis on Lake Aleknagik as part of our limnology dataset, spanning 1962-2025.

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1122 NE Boat Street
Seattle, WA

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