Funded by the California Ocean Protection Council, SAFS Professor, Corey Garza, and colleagues at Stanford, UC Santa Cruz and the Middlebury Institute have embarked on a project to better understand shark and pinniped behavior off the California coast. They do this by tagging and tracking the animals, collecting background environmental data through buoys and mapping where pinnipeds gather. The goal is to understand how these variables interact and better predict when and where white sharks might be on the prowl — and, importantly, how to keep people out of the water when they are.

The Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife is hiring two full-time, non-permanent Freshwater Monitoring Technicians.
The Freshwater Monitoring Technicians are responsible for collecting catch and angler effort data for salmon, steelhead, and other fish species in the Samish, Skagit, and Nooksack River basins (WDFW District 14) through interviews and drive-around counts. Working both independently and collaboratively, the technicians conduct biological sampling, gather field data, and engage with anglers to assess catch rates. 

In a time of increasing calls for Washington judges to adjudicate water conflicts that reflect the State’s growth and development, two members of the University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences attended the Judicial Education Workshop on Water Resource Science, held on March 28, 2025, at Washington State University (WSU). Angela Dillon, a PhD student at SAFS, gave the judges an overview of the importance of water for the environment and fish, with an emphasis on salmon and the Electron Dam on the Puyallup River, while SAFS Professor, Mark Scheuerell, gave a tour of Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River, held on March 29. 

While pursuing her PhD focused on quantitative blue whale population ecology, Kristina Randrup is also a competitive trail runner, emerging as one of the top trail runners in the nation. Check out a feature piece written about Kristina by the American Trail Running Association.

Bleaching. This complicated and foreboding term now lurks around every conversation about coral reefs. Impacted heavily by climate change and associated warming oceans, coral reefs experience bleaching when the algae that live in their tissues and contribute vitally to their growth are expelled, causing the corals to lose their color, and possibly their lives. Callum Backstrom, SAFS PhD student and one of UW’s 2025 Husky 100, is studying the resilience of certain corals to bleaching.

We’re excited to announce a new undergraduate degree in the School of Aquatic & Fishery Sciences (SAFS): Bachelor of Science in Aquatic Conservation and Ecology (ACE). Coming to UW in Autumn 2025.

The Aquatic Conservation and Ecology (ACE) degree is about the ecology of aquatic organisms, the rivers, lakes, and oceans in which they live, and how we conserve them for the benefit of people and the planet. This degree integrates the disciplines of ecology, evolution, and quantitative sciences and applies these principles to contemporary conservation and natural resource management issues.

Join SAFS for the screening of a new documentary, Scale of Change, on 8 May at 6pm. The documentary explores how individual actions, no matter how small, can lead to monumental transformations for the Atlantic salmon.

The 2024 Northwest Emmy Nominees Environment/Science includes a video featuring SAFS Professor, Chelsea Wood, and her work on parasites. The video, produced by Grist, explores why nature can’t run without parasites, and what happens when they start to disappear.

NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) is looking for undergraduate volunteers to assist with ongoing field and lab work related to 6PPD-q and its effects on salmon this summer and fall. This is a great opportunity to work alongside NOAA scientists, gain hands-on experience in both lab and field settings, and strengthen your resume with federal research involvement. Responsibilities and schedules will vary depending on the project needs and your availability. 

In a StoryMap bringing to life the challenges faced by Pacific salmon, SAFS graduate student, Amirah Casey, dives into the role of urban stormwater runoff and climate change in hindering salmon recovery.