The Juvenile Salmon Survival Program, led by Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries UBC-Hakai Professor in Oceanography, Dr. Brian Hunt, has been awarded a $270,000 Tula Foundation-Mitacs grant in support of ongoing research into the early marine life history of juvenile salmon in British Columbia.
“Salmon are one of the most culturally, ecologically, and economically important fish in British Columbia, however, their stocks have been declining since the 1990’s,” said Dr. Hunt. “This collaborative program is concentrating on juvenile salmon’s first months in the ocean as critical to their survival. We want to resolve how changing ocean conditions and ecosystems are impacting BC’s salmon.”
The Juvenile Salmon Survival Program is a collaboration between the University of British Columbia, Hakai Institute, Simon Fraser University, University of Toronto, Pacific Salmon Foundation, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and the Heiltsuk Nation. The award will support two postdoctoral fellows, a PhD student and five MSc students as they focus on the role that marine habitat, feeding conditions, pathogen and parasite infections, and migration behaviour play in the survival of juvenile salmon in British Columbia.
Tags: Brian Hunt, British Columbia, faculty, fish, Hakai Coastal Initiative, Hakai Institute, Pelagic Ecosystems Lab, salmon