Justin Cox
Salish Sea Wild Gets Two EMMY™ Nominations!

We’re thrilled to share that Salish Sea Wild, the SeaDoc Society’s original web series, has been nominated for two EMMY™ Awards by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences! The show is produced by Bob Friel and hosted by SeaDoc Society Science Director Joe Gaydos. 

SeaDoc has two Salish Sea Wild episodes nominated in the North West Chapter's Environment/Science - Long Form Content category!

Justin Cox
In the Beginning, We Needed a Name

The story of how SeaDoc Society went from a big idea to a proper organization with a scientist and a mission and a proper name, as told by a vital board member who was in those early conversations.

In the Beginning, We Needed a Name
Justin Cox
Marine-Foraging River Otters in the Salish Sea

North American river otters (Lontra canadensis) are semi-aquatic mammals that range over most major river drainages, large lakes, and coastal marshes of North America. On the west coast, from Northern California (Bouley et al., 2015) to Alaska (Bowyer et al., 2003), river otters forage in and rely on healthy subtidal and intertidal zones where they feed on a variety of marine fish and invertebrates. The subspecies L. c. pacifica is found throughout the Salish Sea’s rivers, estuaries, coastlines, and coastal islands and plays an important role in the nearshore marine ecosystem. They are often confused with sea otters (Enhydra lutra) by the public because they are otters swimming in the sea. River otters do use and rely on marine resources, but taxonomically, they are not considered marine mammals like sea otters.

Marine-Foraging River Otters in the Salish Sea
Justin Cox
Exciting News: Wild Orca Joins The SeaDoc ...

We’re excited to share that Wild Orca, a non-profit organization dedicated to saving the Southern Resident killer whales, announced today that it is joining forces with the SeaDoc Society to work towards a shared vision: a future where these killer whales thrive in a healthy ecosystem. By combining the passion and expertise of our teams, including esteemed scientists Dr. Deborah Giles and Dr. Joe Gaydos, we can maximize our resources for a more significant impact on these endangered killer whales.

Justin Cox
Meet Our 3 New Board Members: Scott White, Barb ...

The SeaDoc Board is instrumental to our mission here in the Salish Sea. Scott, Barb, and Jeff bring unique expertise, passion, and dedication to our team and we’re so excited to have them! View the whole board here and learn more about Scott, Barb and Jeff below.

Harbor Porpoise/Navy Sonar Investigation

In addition to improving the health of marine wildlife and ecosystems by funding critical research and bringing stakeholders together, the SeaDoc Society also provides all levels of scientific support for numerous regional marine ecosystem health-related issues. A good example is our participation in the recent investigation of the potential association between the stranding of 14 harbor porpoises and the Navy’s mid-frequency sonar exercise in Haro Strait last May.

Sea Otter Research

sea otter by mike bairdThe SeaDoc Society is improving the health of marine wildlife populations and the ecosystem upon which they depend by funding critical research, providing scientific support, and bringing stakeholders together. Like many SeaDoc Society-funded research projects, a recently completed project on sea otters is providing new information that is being used to better manage living marine resources.

Eelgrass Declines

The MEHP [the SeaDoc Society's former name] ensures the health of our marine wildlife and the ecosystem upon which they depend by funding applied scientific research, providing scientific support and translation, and bringing stakeholders together to solve problems. This summer, the Puget Sound region was faced with an emerging ecosystem health issue that needed a rapid and coordinated response if it was to be addressed in a timely and efficient manner.

Herring Declines at Cherry Point: Finding the Real Cause

One way the Marine Ecosystem Health Program (MEHP [now the SeaDoc Society]) works to ensure the health of marine wildlife populations and their Pacific Northwest inland waters ecosystem is to fund scientific research. Research projects are carefully selected to ensure that each one provides information needed to better manage marine resources throughout the inland waters region. For this edition of the quarterly MEHP Research Update, we would like to highlight some early results from one of the projects the MEHP funded in 2002. This research project, entitled “What are the causes of developmental abnormalities in Cherry Point herring?” investigated some important aspects of herring declines in Puget Sound.

River Otter Research

This has been a very busy and productive summer for the Marine Ecosystem Health Program (MEHP [now the SeaDoc Society]). Not only did we convene the First Biennial MEHP Science Symposium in September, but we also launched an exciting new wildlife health research project which we’d like to tell you a bit about. Joe is leading a long-term study of the health of river otters within the inland waters of Washington and British Columbia.