Obsessed - Excellent point. You're exactly correct - the best way to respond to the expected improvements in ocean survival is to be optimistic about the future of the Pacific salmon stocks in the Northwest. Your information might not change how we go about improving habitat or reducing mortality but keeping a positive outlook might be the best response of all. (now why didn't I think of that....)

Chuck'n Duk - It appears that you ran into an algae bloom. They appear whenever there is the right combination of nutrients and temperature. For whatever reason, the conditions where right for a bloom to occur in the Bering Sea. This is not unusual near shore where there are usually alot of nutrients in the runoff. However, I'm not sure what might have caused an increase in temperature or nutrients in the middle of the Bering Sea. Your observations on fish distribution in the algae bloom are also right on. Algae blooms often consume large amount of oxygen in the water thereby reducing the oxygen available to fish. This usually drives the fish away, or in some cases, kills them in large numbers. So it's not surprising your catch rate in these blooms was zero. <@)(((><


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MSB