The Canadian research vessel CCGS Sir John Franklin returned to its home port in British Columbia in late March after a month at sea taking part in the 2022 International Year of the Salmon Pan-Pacific Winter High Seas Expedition.
The survey completed aboard the Franklin was a fully integrated ecosystem study, with complete oceanographic sampling. The scientists who were aboard the Franklin will now analyze data and samples from the survey in collaboration with U.S. colleagues and Canadian academic partners.
Expedition organizers said that the enthusiasm and hard work of young scientists from the University of British Columbia and the University of Victoria, coupled with the international effort needed to understand the winter ecology of Pacific salmon in a changing North Pacific Ocean rendered the expedition a success.
The pan-Pacific survey is expected to provide important science to help sustain Pacific salmon for future generations, the organizers said.
The 2022 IYS Expedition was made possible by in-kind ship time contributions from Canada and the United States, and additional financial and technical contributions from various agencies and organizations, including Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Other contributors include the North Pacific Research Board, the Great Pacific Foundation and the Pacific Salmon Foundation Northern Endowment Fund, the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission, the North Pacific Fisheries Commission, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.