Collaborative decision-making is often promoted as a means to achieve socially acceptable and enduring solutions to natural resource management issues, and one that holds promise for resolving “wicked” problems. However, success rates for implementation of collaborative recommendations are unknown. This paper explores challenges to collaborative salmon fishery management in Prince...
Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are a widely distributed baleen whale species, well known for their diverse acoustic behavior. On high-latitude foraging grounds, humpback whales produce a suite of non-song vocalizations (“calls”) in concert with foraging and social behavior. In this dissertation I investigated the role of calls in the acoustic...
Estuaries are an important ecological link between terrestrial, freshwater, and marine systems, but are also subject to a variety of human pressures. Along the West Coast of the United States, shellfish aquaculture is one extensive use of estuarine tidelands. Specifically, Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) aquaculture has been practiced for almost...
The management of small-scale fisheries (SSF) around the world is facing increasing demands for reformation given ecological, social, and economic vulnerabilities. The governance of SSF is particularly important to foster the sustainability of these systems given that it combines regulatory instruments, interactive participation of diverse stakeholders, and the guiding values...
Rockfish Conservation Areas (RCAs) are large areas closed to fishing in federal waters off the Washington, Oregon and California coasts. The Pacific Fisheries Management Council (PFMC) was responsible for the creation and regulation of the RCAs. The RCA boundaries were defined in 2002 to rebuild rockfish species declared as overfished...
Washington State fisheries and Washington State Treaty Tribes are becoming increasingly restricted in harvest of wild salmon due to US Endangered Species Act listings of salmon species, marine mammal predation by both ESA listed Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW) and US Marine Mammal Protection Act protected pinnipeds, salmon habitat destruction,...
At a time of rapid global change, a socio-ecological system (SES) approach can provide a framework through which to quantify and communicate the risks and uncertainties of coupled human-natural systems. Islands, and tropical coral reef islands in particular, can be excellent models for SES research since they may be considered...
Climate variations within the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem (CCLME) have impacts on marine fish populations. It is proposed that these impacts will be reflected in recreational fishing catches which is explored in this study. A Pearson correlation analysis compares data from El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events and upwelling...
Recreational fisheries regulations at the state level along the US Atlantic coast are constantly changing to ensure the sustainability of marine fish populations. It is hypothesized that effective management of recreational fishing effort should have a positive impact on fish stocks. Using recreational catch per unit effort (CPUE) as a...
As regional climates warm in the Pacific Northwest, USA, flow minima and temperature maxima may become more synchronous in headwater streams over time. The dual stresses from lower flows and warmer temperatures will be energetically costly for cold-water species such as Coastal Cutthroat Trout and Coastal Giant Salamander. Individual fates...