Puget Sound salmon recovery is a collective effort of federal, state and local authorities and non-profit coalitions of universities, scientists, business and industry aimed at restoring Pacific salmon and anadromous forms of Pacific trout (Oncorhynchus) within the Puget Sound region. Puget Sound lies within the native range of the Pacific Salmon (Oncorhynchus) and two sea-run forms of Pacific trout, the coastal rainbow trout (O. mykiss irideus) or steelhead and coastal cutthroat trout (O. clarki clarki). Populations of Oncorhynchus have seen significant declines since the middle of the 19th century due to over fishing, habitat loss, pollution and disease. Salmon species residing in or migrating through Puget Sound to spawning streams include Chum (O. keta), Coho (O. kisutch), Chinook (O. tshawytscha), Sockeye (O. nerka), and Pink salmon (O. gorbuscha). Pacific salmon require freshwater rivers for spawning and most major tributaries of Puget Sound have salmon, steelhead and cutthroat trout spawning runs. Major organizations involved in recovery efforts include the Puget Sound Partnership, Shared Strategy for Puget Sound, South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group and Westsound Watersheds Council.
Needs Pacific salmon rely on nearshore waters and estuaries for survival during a part of their life cycle. Salmon use estuaries and near-shore areas for migration, juvenile rearing, refuge, and feeding. Large trees in rivers are no longer common. The Nisqually River was in pristine condition when it was layered with log jams. It turns out, logjams actually help salmon, partly by slowing the speed of the river and by creating cool pools and channels that are good places for adult and juvenile fish to hide, feed and spawn. When 90% of wetlands were lost, 90% of salmon was also lost. A Migratory Path Puget Sound's near-shore region is composed of shallow saltwater, nearby wetlands, estuaries, beaches, and bluffs. These areas are critical zones for juvenile salmon as they make the transition from rivers to the ocean. Salmon are known to move through estuaries twice in their lifetimes. The first move is as juveniles when they move to the sea, and the second is as adults when they transition back to the rivers in order to spawn. A Place To Adjust Juvenile salmon spend a prolonged period of time (weeks to months) in estuaries in order to help ease their bodies adapt to the transition from fresh water to salt water. In a process called “Smoltification”, salmon are able to make the next step in preparing their bodies for the transition from freshwater to saltwater. Specifically, their bodies go through dramatic changes portrayed through their outward appearance, behavior, and even body chemistry. When these salmon return as adults they must go through the same process again in estuaries to help make the transition from saltwater to freshwater before heading back to their respective rivers to spawn. There are a number of different species of salmon that run through Puget Sound. Such salmon species include Chum, Coho, Chinook, Sockeye, Pink, and Steelhead. These salmon swim through Puget Sound to spawn in the rivers running into Puget Sound. Some Puget Sound rivers that salmon swim up are: Nooksack, Samish, Skagit, Baker, Cascade, Stillaguamish, Snohomish, Skykomish, Green, Puyallup, Carbon, Nisqually, Deschutes rivers. Salmon also go up Lake Washington, Lake Sammamish, Kennedy Creek, and Minter Creek.
Life cycle The life cycle of salmon requires specific conditions within the chain of connected environments. Salmon typically live 3–6 years, which often changes depending on life conditions. While some salmon stay within Puget Sound, others will migrate and live deeper in the Pacific Ocean. The salmon begin their journey as fertilized eggs in a stream that eventually hatch and move downstream in freshwater (lasting anywhere from months to three years depending on species). Once they mature to juvenile salmon, also known as “fry”, they migrate from the freshwater stream towards a brackish estuary where “saltwater meets freshwater”. Here, they begin to adapt to the salt water during a process known as smoltification, which can last up to a few months. Smoltification is crucial to ensure survival of salmon once they enter the Pacific Ocean. At this point, they are ready to transition through the coastal shores into the North Pacific Ocean where they stay anywhere from six months up to five years and travel as far as the Gulf of Alaska. Depending on the species, the salmon are ready to return to their home stream, river, or lake after one to seven years of being in the ocean to begin the process of spawning. Once the salmons spawn, the process begins again with the new salmon. Juvenile salmon: The Most Crucial Stage of the Life Cycle As mentioned above, juvenile salmon utilize estuaries to transition from freshwater to saltwater environments. Estuaries have "brackish" water conditions, in which water is not purely freshwater or saltwater, but rather an 'in-between.' These estuaries contain the necessary amount of both fresh and salt water so the salmon can steadily adapt without causing harm to their body chemistry, in the process called "smoltification". While this meeting of fresh and salt is necessary, juvenile salmon use estuaries for more than a place of adaption. Eelgrass, also known as Vallisneria, and other aquatic vegetation grows submersed (completely aquatic) or emergent (partially aquatic) or around shoreline areas, offering protection and supplemental food for juvenile salmon from predators such as larger, grown salmon, birds of prey, bears, and cougars. Furthermore, "juvenile salmon experience the highest growth rates of their lives while in estuaries and nearshore waters". Since nutrients are so crucial to their growth, the complex food web produced from these water plants such as eelgrass serves the juvenile salmon well, and these salmon tend to be more selective, using instincts to tell them what will better prepare their bodies for ocean residence or migration later in their lives.
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