PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

How proactive salmon conservation in the North Pacific can deliver global benefits

A new study examines the “stronghold strategy”—an ambitious plan to protect food security, biodiversity, and climate resilience through salmon rivers

2025-04-15
(Press-News.org) April 15, 2025 | Portland, Oregon—A new study in the journal Fisheries shows how a salmon-focused ecosystem protection strategy in the North Pacific can deliver meaningful results in the global drive to protect biodiversity.

The approach, called the stronghold strategy, aims to proactively protect the world’s greatest remaining “strongholds”—a select group of salmon, steelhead, and trout systems that collectively comprise 119 distinct watersheds. According to Wild Salmon Center President & CEO Guido Rahr—lead author of the peer-reviewed study—salmonids center the strategy because they are both iconic and globally recognized as keystone species. For the past 25 years, WSC has deployed the stronghold strategy in rivers across the North Pacific, with impacts that ripple far beyond the rivers that salmon call home. 

“When you protect salmon, you protect the benefits of healthy watersheds,” Rahr says. “The science is clear that salmon rivers can safeguard food security, species biodiversity, and climate resilience. So we built a strategy centered on strongholds—some of the best salmon river systems in the world.” 

Strongholds are distinguished by their relatively high levels of wild salmon abundance, productivity and diversity, along with habitat quality capable of sustaining wild salmon for decades. They include vast and stunning places like Bristol Bay, Alaska, and the Skeena and Dean watersheds in British Columbia. According to the authors, strongholds can play a key role in advancing the world’s 30 x 30 conservation goals. As some of the planet’s last large, intact landscapes, salmon strongholds sequester 6.1 billion tons of greenhouse gasses—roughly equivalent to 3.5 years of total U.S. emissions.

“Strongholds are already working hard on our behalf,” says study co-author and WSC Science Director Dr. Matthew Sloat. “We can build on their benefits by scaling up our stewardship, but time is a factor. The window is closing in which we can protect these systems from the threats that are breaking so many other salmon rivers.”

The authors note that the stronghold strategy aims to complement—rather than replace—different strategies to recover endangered salmon populations in systems degraded by development, harmful resource extraction, and other threats to wild fish. But in action, the stronghold strategy is uniquely proactive. In the decades since the strategy’s conception, WSC and a network of partners have protected 35.7 million acres of habitat and prioritized wild fish biodiversity in 89 rivers across the North Pacific. 

The study provides multiple case studies on the stronghold strategy’s impact. In Oregon, for example, NOAA Fisheries noted an increase in coho salmon population diversity following the strategic expansion of coastal “wild fish zones.” Another case study tracks the 2006 designation of Russia’s Kol watershed as the first World Heritage Site dedicated to salmon, as led by WSC and a coalition of Russian partners. The Kol’s whole-watershed protections became permanent in 2015, and have inspired the creation of nine additional large-scale protected areas for wild salmon across the Russian Far East.

“The stronghold strategy is already sustaining local fisheries, slowing the pace of biodiversity loss, and helping to mitigate climate change,” Dr. Sloat says. “The long-term protection of strongholds is one of the smartest, most cost-effective investments we can make for the health and wellbeing of future generations.”

The stronghold strategy aims to ensure that these systems will remain safe for decades, Dr. Sloat notes. For each system, success rests on achieving three pillars of durability: 

Layered habitat protection and restoration. Each stronghold needs policies that can protect land and water through shifts in politics and economic pressure.  A fisheries management emphasis on wild fish biodiversity. According to Dr. Sloat, the rich genetic and life history diversity of salmon is the species’ superpower, enabling them to survive ice ages, floods, and dramatic climate changes.  A culture of local stewardship. The enduring presence of local land and water guardians builds what Rahr calls a human “immune response”—community members ready to defend a stronghold from threats. “The stronghold strategy is about more than ensuring a future that we can share with these amazing wild fish,” Rahr says. “It’s about a legacy of wild rivers and wild places that we inherited, and that we owe to our children and grandchildren.” 

###

MEDIA CONTACTS

Oakley Brooks
Communications Director
Wild Salmon Center
(503) 222-1804
obrooks@wildsalmoncenter.org 

Guido Rahr
President & CEO
Wild Salmon Center
grahr@wildsalmoncenter.org

Dr. Matthew Sloat
Science Director
Wild Salmon Center
msloat@wildsalmoncenter.org

###

MEDIA VIDEO/PHOTO ASSETS* 
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1K_GhkG4B37qlrG4otfOHaiBP3Q8XjOFU 
* Please include video/photo credits with use

###

ABOUT WILD SALMON CENTER
The mission of Wild Salmon Center is to promote the conservation and sustainable use of wild salmon ecosystems across the Pacific Rim. Working across the entire range of Pacific salmon, from California to the Western Pacific, WSC has led the protection of strongholds: the North Pacific's last, best salmon rivers. For more than 30 years, the organization has worked alongside local partners to protect 35.7 million acres around salmon stronghold rivers and prioritize 89 of those rivers for wild fish. More at wildsalmoncenter.org.

###

END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Blocking chemokine receptor increases effectiveness of glucocorticoids in multiple myeloma treatment

2025-04-15
Researchers at the VIB-UGent Center for Medical Biotechnology have discovered a promising strategy to improve treatment responses in multiple myeloma patients by blocking a protein that plays a key role in drug resistance. The study, published in Pharmacological Research, offers a potential new strategy to improve outcomes for patients whose disease has become less responsive to standard therapies. Multiple myeloma (MM) is a type of blood cancer that affects the bone marrow. Patients are often treated with dexamethasone, a synthetic glucocorticoid frequently used in the clinic to regulate immune responses and slow cancer growth. However, as the disease progresses, many patients develop ...

Amount of sunlight reaching Earth’s surface varies over decades, researchers report

Amount of sunlight reaching Earth’s surface varies over decades, researchers report
2025-04-15
The sun may rise every morning, but the amount of sunlight reaching the Earth’s surface can substantially vary over decades, according to a perspectives article led by an international research team. The article, published on March 15 in Advances in Atmospheric Science, suggests that stages of “dimming” and “brightening” correspond with increased air pollution and implementation of clean energy solutions, respectively.   “The amount of sunlight — which is solar ...

Heart valve abnormality is associated with malignant arrhythmias

2025-04-15
People with a certain heart valve abnormality are at increased risk of severe heart rhythm disorders, even after successful valve surgery. This is according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden published in the European Heart Journal. The condition is more common in women and younger patients with valve disorder and can, in the worst case, lead to sudden cardiac arrest. Mitral annular disjunction, MAD, is a heart abnormality in which the mitral valve attachment ‘slides’. In recent years, the condition has ...

Explainable AI for ship navigation raises trust, decreases human error

Explainable AI for ship navigation raises trust, decreases human error
2025-04-15
The Titanic sunk 113 years ago on April 14-15, after hitting an iceberg, with human error likely causing the ship to stray into those dangerous waters. Today, autonomous systems built on artificial intelligence can help ships avoid such accidents, but could such a system explain to the captain why it was maneuvering a certain way? That’s the idea behind explainable AI, which should help human actors trust autonomous systems more. Researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University’s Graduate School of Engineering have developed an explainable AI model for ships that quantifies the collision risk for all vessels ...

Study reveals erasing inequality could prevent hundreds of adverse births annually in major UK city

2025-04-15
In Birmingham, 43% of the population live in the most deprived 10% of neighborhoods in England. It is well known that deprivation can lead to adverse pregnancy outcomes, including low birth weight, premature birth, stillbirths, and neonatal mortality. Now, researchers there examined the association between demographic, socioeconomic, and lifestyle factors and the risk of adverse birth outcomes in Birmingham and neighboring Solihull, an area much less affected by deprivation. “Within the study population, there were significant differences in the odds of adverse birth outcomes and the risk factors of adverse birth outcomes by ethnicity ...

No “uncanny valley” effect in science-telling AI avatars

No “uncanny valley” effect in science-telling AI avatars
2025-04-15
If you’re among the 1.5 billion people worldwide using TikTok, you may have come across exceptional “testimonials” like Nikola Tesla or Marie Curie delivering short science-related messages that have garnered millions of views. This is just one of many examples where AI-generated avatars are used to communicate science — a strategy that might also have its drawbacks. The generation of images and animations through artificial intelligence is a rapidly growing field, constantly improving in quality. Yet many avatars, though realistic, still present minor flaws — glitches, delays, inconsistent ...

New UNCG research shows southern shrews shrink in winter

New UNCG research shows southern shrews shrink in winter
2025-04-15
Newly published research from UNC Greensboro biology professor Dr. Bryan McLean and colleagues shows that the masked shrew, a small, mole-like mammal found in the Appalachian Mountains, shrinks its body and braincase to conserve energy during winter months.     The study, published in the May 2025 issue of The American Naturalist, found that the masked shrew (Sorex cinereus) reduces its body mass by 13 percent in the colder months; the creature then grows larger in spring when conditions improve. In addition to a shrinking body, the team also found seasonal changes in the height of the creature’s ...

Children exposed to brain-harming chemicals while sleeping

Children exposed to brain-harming chemicals while sleeping
2025-04-15
Babies and young children may breathe and absorb plasticizers called phthalates, flame retardants, and other harmful chemicals from their mattresses while they sleep, according to a pair of peer-reviewed studies published today from the University of Toronto in Environmental Science & Technology and Environmental Science & Technology Letters. These chemicals are linked to neurological and reproductive problems, asthma, hormone disruption, and cancer.     "Sleep is vital for brain development, ...

Emotions and levels of threat affect communities’ resilience during extreme events

2025-04-15
Hoboken, N.J., April 14, 2025 — Tightly connected communities tend to be more resilient when facing extreme events such as earthquakes, hurricanes, floods or wildfires, says Jose Ramirez-Marquez, who develops metrics to analyze, quantify and ultimately improve performance of urban systems.  Ramirez-Marquez, associate professor and division director of Enterprise Science and Engineering at Stevens, who grew up in the earthquake-prone Mexico City knows this first-hand. “Whenever there's an earthquake, a city-wide alarm goes off and everybody leaves wherever they are and stays in the middle of the street — that’s a prevention phase,” he says. ...

New CONSORT reporting guidelines published today in five medical journals

2025-04-14
Under embargo until 23:30 (UK), Monday April 14, 2025 An updated set of guidelines to improve transparency and clarity in the reporting of randomised controlled trials have been published today. The CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) 2025 statement provides a minimum set of essential items that should be included when reporting the results of randomised trials. First published in 1996, the CONSORT guidelines saw additional updates in 2001 and 2010. Becoming the gold standard for reporting randomised trials, ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Parents of children with health conditions less confident about a positive school year

New guideline standardizes consent for research participants in Canada

Research as reconciliation: Oil sands and health

AI risks overwriting history and the skills of historians have never been more important, leading academic outlines in new paper

The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology: Higher doses of semaglutide can safely enhance weight loss and improve health for adults living with obesity, two new clinical trials confirm

Trauma focused therapy shows promise for children struggling with PTSD

School meals could drive economic growth and food system transformation

Home training for cerebellar ataxias

Dry eyes affect over half the general population, yet only a fifth receive diagnosis and treatment

Researchers sound warning about women with type 2 diabetes taking oral HRT

Overweight and obesity don’t always increase the risk of an early death, Danish study finds

Cannabis use associated with a quadrupling of risk of developing type 2 diabetes, finds study of over 4 million adults

Gestational diabetes linked to cognitive decline in mothers and increased risk of developmental delays, ADHD and autism among children

Could we use eye drops instead of reading glasses as we age?

Patients who had cataracts removed or their eyesight corrected with a new type of lens have good vision over all distances without spectacles

AI can spot which patients need treatment to prevent vision loss in young adults

Half of people stop taking popular weight-loss drug within a year, national study finds

Links between diabetes and depression are similar across Europe, study of over-50s in 18 countries finds

Smoking increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, regardless of its characteristics

Scientists trace origins of now extinct plant population from volcanically active Nishinoshima

AI algorithm based on routine mammogram + age can predict women’s major cardiovascular disease risk

New hurdle seen to prostate screening: primary-care docs

MSU researchers explore how virtual sports aid mental health

Working together, cells extend their senses

Cheese fungi help unlock secrets of evolution

Researchers find brain region that fuels compulsive drinking

Mental health effects of exposure to firearm violence persist long after direct exposure

Research identifies immune response that controls Oropouche infection and prevents neurological damage

University of Cincinnati, Kent State University awarded $3M by NSF to share research resources

Ancient DNA reveals deeply complex Mastodon family and repeated migrations driven by climate change

[Press-News.org] How proactive salmon conservation in the North Pacific can deliver global benefits
A new study examines the “stronghold strategy”—an ambitious plan to protect food security, biodiversity, and climate resilience through salmon rivers