Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The Salish Sea, showing the Strait of Georgia near centre, the Strait of Juan de Fuca below, Puget Sound at the lower right, Johnstone Strait at the extreme upper left, and the Pacific Ocean at lower left. Sediment from the Fraser River is visible as a greenish plume in the Strait of Georgia.
Specifically, Puget Sound is home to thousands of invertebrate species, 200 species of fish, 100 species of sea birds, and 26 kinds of marine mammals. Of all these species, salmon and killer whales are the most iconic and culturally relevant to the Native American tribes within the Pacific Northwest region.
Many other fish species occur in Puget Sound, such as sturgeons, lampreys, various sharks, rays, and skates. [32] Puget Sound is home to numerous species of marine invertebrates, including sponges, sea anemones, chitons, clams, sea snails, limpets, crabs, barnacles, starfish, sea urchins, and sand dollars. [33]
Endangered and Threatened Species DPS and ESU U.S. range for Steelhead and Salmon. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Environmental Protection Agency, groups steelhead and salmon into distinct population segments (DPS).
The confluence of the freshwater Nisqually River and the saltwater south Puget Sound has created a variety of unique environments, each rich in nutrients and natural resources for the local wildlife. The delta provides habitats for more than 300 different species of fish and wildlife. [10]
The Puget Sound has 19 Pacific herring stocks; the populations from all have decreased since 2002. The largest decreases are found in the north Puget Sound area; where stocks dropped form roughly 12,000 tons of spawning biomass to 4,000 tons in 2004. The Cherry Point stock had particularly large decreases. [1]
Salmonidae (/ s æ l ˈ m ɒ n ɪ d iː /, lit. ' salmon-like ') is a family of ray-finned fish that constitutes the only currently extant family in the order Salmoniformes (/ s æ l ˈ m ɒ n ɪ f ɔːr m iː z /, lit. "salmon-shaped"), consisting of 11 extant genera and over 200 species collectively known as "salmonids" or "salmonoids".
Concerns have also been raised regarding the impact of geoduck aquaculture on the natural habitat, particularly in Puget Sound. Currently, geoduck aquaculture in Puget Sound occupies 80 ha of private tidelands which are either owned by aquaculture companies or leased from other landowners.