The pulse of the ocean

UW and Smithsonian researchers develop DNA identification methods for monitoring Salish Sea planktonic communities

From the Winter 2023/2024 Sea Star

By Katalin Plummer, WSG Science Communications Fellow

Sometimes it’s the smallest living things that can tell us the most about the state of the ocean. For decades, scientists have tracked the diversity and abundance of plankton — microscopic organisms that include larval fish (ichthyoplankton), other small animals (zooplankton), and photosynthesizing bacteria and protists (phytoplankton) — on the surface of the ocean. Traditionally, this ...

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WSG News Blog

Who brings your seafood to you? An interview with Thomas Foster-Kibbler and Heather Auld of Foster Fisheries

January 24, 2024

By Alison Lorenz, WSG Science Writer

Before Thomas Foster-Kibbler got into commercial fishing, he wanted to be an EMT on a firefighting crew. He was living in sunny Los Angeles County, training to help others. The problem? He was spending all his spare time and cash sport fishing on charter boats and spending, as he says, “too much money to go fishing all the time.”

That’s when something clicked. Foster-Kibbler decided to try a career in fishing commercially, and found ...

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WSG News Blog

Wild Seafood Connection to bring fishers and buyers to Bellingham in February

January 18, 2024

On February 29, members of the commercial fishing industry will have a chance to speak directly to their buyers – restaurants, retailers, brokers, and other seafood businesses  – at the Wild Seafood Connection conference, presented by the Port of Bellingham and produced by Colibri Northwest.  

Formerly known as the Wild Seafood Exchange, the one-day conference aims to help independent fishing businesses directly market and sell their catch. Washington Sea Grant (WSG) was a ...

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WSG News Blog

Washington Sea Grant receives federal funding to advance resilience in coastal and fishing communities

January 10, 2024

Washington Sea Grant (WSG) is pleased to receive federal funds through NOAA Sea Grant in support of its work to advance resilience in coastal and fishing communities throughout Washington state. 

The WSG project seeks to enhance Washington coastal resilience in several ways. These include but are not limited to: broadening outreach to coastal communities on coast-specific climate hazards; connecting marine and coastal resource managers with funding opportunities to address coastal hazards; communicating hazard risk reduction ...

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WSG News Blog

After nearly 40 years of sharing life-saving skills, Sarah Fisken retires

As a WSG marine operations specialist, Fisken grew the organization’s marine workshop program and forged trust and community across the state in the process

From the Winter 2023/2024 Sea Star

By Samantha Larson, WSG Science Writer

The first time Sarah Fisken put on a survival suit, she was immediately thrown overboard. She was on a boat anchored out in Southeast Alaska, as she was spending the summer commercial fishing for salmon. There was another boat anchored nearby that she ...

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The National Sea Grant College Program announces federal funding opportunity to advance U.S. aquaculture

December 12, 2023

Subject to the availability of funding, Sea Grant anticipates $5,000,000 to $6,000,000 will be available for research projects and programs that will develop and refine methods, protocols, techniques, and/or strategies to enhance the production of one or more life stages of aquaculture species with the overall goal of improving the efficiency, output, and profitability of commercial coastal, marine, or Great Lakes region aquaculture businesses.

Total funding for this competition includes approximately $5,000,000-$6,000,000 to support 4-12 projects for up to ...

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WSG News Blog

Teri King starts a new chapter

December 6, 2023

After working at Washington Sea Grant (WSG) for more than 30 years, Teri King, aquaculture and marine water quality specialist, has moved on to her next chapter. 

King joined WSG in 1990. Over the next three decades, she built an innovative program of outreach and technical assistance around the issues of shellfish aquaculture and Puget Sound water quality, reaching thousands who shared her passion for healthy marine waters and resources. Her program has ...

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The first Seaweed Knowledge Symposium covered the challenges and opportunities of a burgeoning field

December 5, 2023

Watch the video recordings of the December 2022 Seaweed Knowledge Symposium online

Seaweed aquaculture in Washington is a bit like the “Cheshire cat”: though there are a handful of commercial farms and restoration projects, a few pending permits, and a whole lot of enthusiasm, it’s mostly not there…yet. Whether seaweed farming will truly take off in this state, and how, is an open question. But amidst this uncertainty lies opportunity.

The foundation being laid for seaweed farming and restoration efforts ...

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New staff: WSG welcomes Alison Lorenz

November 28, 2023

Washington Sea Grant (WSG) is excited to welcome Alison Lorenz as a new science writer.

In this role, Alison creates and proofs flyers, blog posts, news releases, reports, and more to keep the public connected to WSG’s work across its program areas. She also supports WSG’s media relations and outreach efforts.

Alison holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Carleton College and a master’s degree in public administration from the University ...

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Protocol in Focus: Why do we measure European green crabs?

Protocol in Focus: Why do we measure European green crabs?

November 17, 2023

We are Crab Team after all, so it’s perhaps no surprise that we are not shy about getting up to our elbows in details about the crabs we catch. But what can we actually learn from looking at size data of crabs? What makes handling all the angry pinchers worthwhile? 

We’re covering this rich topic in two issues of Protocol in Focus. This time, we’ll shed light on what we can ...

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Green Crab Monitoring

New staff: WSG welcomes Sanpisa Sritrairat

November 15, 2023

Washington Sea Grant (WSG) is excited to welcome Sanpisa Sritrairat as the new community engagement specialist.

Growing up on the coast of Thailand, Sanpisa developed a deep love for coastal ecosystems. She has dedicated her career to protecting these ecosystems and the communities that depend on them. Trained as a multidisciplinary ecologist, hydrogeologist, climate scientist and environmental educator, Sanpisa has led numerous research and educational outreach efforts to address coastal ...

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Melissa Poe to serve as WSG assistant director for outreach

November 1, 2023

Person on beach holding oystersWashington Sea Grant (WSG) has appointed Dr. Melissa Poe to assistant director for outreach. Poe has been at WSG for 10 years, leading the social science program in work to identify, define and incorporate measures of human well-being and cultural practices into marine planning and ecosystem-based management. She Read More

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Seven recent graduates selected for the 2023-2024 WSG Hershman Fellowship

October 24, 2023

Congratulations to our new WSG Hershman Fellows!

We are pleased to announce that recent graduates Catalina Burch, Hannah King, Noah Linck, Katie Love, Ellie Mason, Andrea Richter-Sanchez and Hannah Tennent have been awarded the Washington Sea Grant Hershman Fellowship for 2023–2024. This fellowship places highly motivated, qualified individuals with marine and coastal host offices throughout Washington, providing fellows with a unique perspective on building marine policy and allowing them to share their academic expertise with the host ...

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New staff: WSG welcomes communications specialist Hannah Shelly

September 29, 2023

Washington Sea Grant (WSG) is thrilled to welcome Hannah Shelly as the communications specialist.

In this role, they collaborate with the WSG communications team and play an integral role in coordinating projects, supporting ongoing outreach efforts, social media and website management, as well as assisting with both internal and external communications.

Hannah holds a bachelor’s degree in photography and ...

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