The increased production is intended to broadly distribute a supplemental prey abundance in inside areas (puget sound) in the summer and outside areas (COASTAL) in the winter times and areas that have…

This federal Project Grant award, valued at $2,833,762.00, was provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) under the Pacific Coast Salmon Recovery Pacific Salmon Treaty Program (CFDA 11.438). The goal of this initiative is to increase the abundance of age 3-5 Chinook salmon in areas important to the Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW) by supplementing prey availability through hatchery production projects. The funding will support the Washington State Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW) in implementing conservation and management efforts for the SRKW, including actions to broadly distribute supplemental Chinook salmon prey in Puget Sound during the summer and coastal areas during the winter. This Project Grant award has a performance period from September 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025.

The increased production is intended to broadly distribute a supplemental prey abundance in inside areas (puget sound) in the summer and outside areas (COASTAL) in the winter times and areas that have been identified as most limited. The goal of the hatchery production initiative for supplementing prey abundance is to provide a meaningful increase in the abundance of age 3-5 chinook salmon in the times and areas most important to srkws. The projects outlined in this application implement the conservation of southern resident killer whales through hatchery production projects.