The $27 million in funding will be distributed through 2026 to NOAA’s Northwest and Southwest Fisheries Science Centers to conduct science and research to advance salmon recovery. Specific activities include:

Integrated model development and application: Improving salmon life-cycle computer models and including ecosystem parameters to inform management strategies that rely on predictions of Pacific salmon abundance.

Restoration, recovery and reintroduction techniques: Assessing habitat restoration effectiveness, improving methods to determine meaningful conservation and management decisions and measuring the ability of reintroduced salmon to adapt to future environmental conditions.

Habitat stressors in freshwater and estuary environments: Investigating the impacts of stormwater pollutants on salmon to include using toxicity data in management decisions.

Ocean and nearshore ecology: Measuring indicators of ocean productivity and predation rates to improve predictions of salmon survival and growth.