For decades, scientists and concerned citizens have called for improving salmon id spawning and rearing habitats in an attempt to reverse the trend of dwindling runs of salmon and steelhead in Puget Sound. To date, restoration has been critical in improving salmon smolt and juvenile steelhead survival. Unfortunately, these improvements have not been enough to produce the recovery that might have been expected. Increasingly, scientists are learning that other anthropogenic changes to the Puget Sound ecosystem, ranging from sky glow to ubiquitous pathogens, are likely having a greater impact on salmon and steelhead recovery than previously realized.

Jill B. Rolland, PhD, currently serves as the Director of the USGS Western Fisheries Research Center in Seattle. Prior to joining the USGS, Jill worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service for ten years. While at USDA, she initially served as the aquatic animal health program manager and later as the Director of Aquaculture, Swine, Equine and Poultry Health Programs. Jill has a bachelor’s degree in fisheries from the University of Washington and master’s and doctoral degrees in fish health from the University of Bergen, Norway. Her research has been focused on transmission, hosts and reservoirs for the infectious salmon anemia (ISA) virus.

This is the second installment of The Future of Oceans lecture series.

This event is offered with generous support by the Darrow Family.

Assisted Listening Devices available