Supporting with Traditional Ecological Knowledge
In the Salish Sea, the health of salmon is closely linked with Pacific herring.
Herring and other forage fish are an important food source for both juvenile salmon and predators, like harbor seals, that would otherwise feed on salmon.
Linking the past to the future
Pacific herring are a key link in the Salish Sea ecosystem
Long Live the Kings is working with the Nisqually Indian Tribe, Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, and additional partners to understand and recover declining Puget Sound herring stocks. In a series of experiments, we’re testing whether methods adapted from traditional Indigenous techniques can be used to supplement spawning habitat and boost herring populations.
Pacific herring have a cultural and economic significance in addition to their critical role in the marine food web. Herring populations have been declining for decades, with several spawning stocks at a fraction of their historical numbers.
Their decline poses a huge challenge for salmon recovery. The Salish Sea Marine Survival Project found a close link between forage fish abundance and juvenile Chinook salmon survival: forage fish like herring are both an important food source for salmon themselves, and an alternative prey source for predators like harbor seals (meaning that fewer salmon get eaten when herring are abundant).
Herring spawn in nearshore areas where their eggs attach to vegetation, like eelgrass and kelp. Many eelgrass and kelp beds in Puget Sound have been lost since the 1800s due to a combination of factors including shoreline development, pollution, and warming waters.