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Description
The Pacific Northwest is home to over 90 species of commercially-managed groundfish along the West Coast and over 30 threatened or endangered fish and marine mammal species--including iconic Pacific salmon and killer whales. Protecting our region's living marine resources and their habitats is critical to sustaining the environment, our economy, public health, and quality of life.
The NWFSC's mission is to conduct the science necessary to conserve marine and anadromous species and their habitats off the Washington, Oregon, and northern California coasts and in freshwater rivers of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Our research provides reliable, relevant, and credible information to help decision-makers and natural resource managers build sustainable fisheries, recover endangered and threatened species, maintain healthy ecosystems, and protect human health. The Center is also dedicated to enhancing public awareness, education, and stewardship of our marine resources.
The Center's research brings together many disciplines, including fisheries science, marine biology and ecology, genetics, biochemistry, molecular biology, oceanography, and physiology. In addition, many of the Center's research projects are conducted in cooperation with other organizations, including federal, state, local, and tribal entities throughout the region, nation, and world.
The NWFSC is one of six regional science centers for the National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries). The Center's headquarters in Seattle, WA and its five research stations in Washington and Oregon are home to more than 500 scientists and staff. Each research station provides unique capabilities that enable Center scientists to better understand the diversity of living marine resources in the Pacific Northwest.
Mission
The Pacific Northwest is home to over 90 species of commercially-managed groundfish along the West Coast and over 30 threatened or endangered fish and marine mammal species--including iconic Pacific salmon and killer whales. Protecting our region's living marine resources and their habitats is critical to sustaining the environment, our economy, public health, and quality of life.
The NWFSC's mission is to conduct the science necessary to conserve marine and anadromous species and their habitats off the Washington, Oregon, and northern California coasts and in freshwater rivers of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Our research provides reliable, relevant, and credible information to help decision-makers and natural resource managers build sustainable fisheries, recover endangered and threatened species, maintain healthy ecosystems, and protect human health. The Center is also dedicated to enhancing public awareness, education, and stewardship of our marine resources.