Estimating salmon escapement goals in the 21st century has become very different than in the past. We now understand that escapement goals are multi-dimensional and should include habitat capacity, salmon life history, biological diversity, ecological values, and environmental variation, as well as the simple number of spawners. Further, computational and simulation techniques are rapidly evolving. Researchers are engaged in a variety of technical investigations that are advancing understanding of the number and diversity of salmon needed to fill their various habitats.

There are three purposes for the workshop:

  1. To briefly identify and summarize current technical methods used to set escapement goals.
  2. To identify emerging research and modeling tools that can help improve the scientific basis for establishing escapement goals.
  3. To identify opportunities to coordinate research and modeling efforts for new approaches to setting escapement goals that are scientifically rigorous and address diversity as well as abundance.

The format of this workshop will include one day of overview and technical presentations on the state of the science of salmon escapement goal estimation under the topic: “Current methods and recent developments in modeling techniques for advancing escapement goal estimation”.  This will include how escapement goals are currently set, but will emphasize emerging tools that could be used to incorporate the latest scientific information in the establishment of escapement goals.  The second day will consist of a facilitated brainstorming session on the topic: “What is the most promising course for further development of capacity- and life-history-based escapement goal estimation?”

We plan to document the findings and conclusions of the workshop. The results will be used to formulate a research plan for the research project. Additionally, some of the findings will feed into a publishable manuscript about the past, present, and potential future of escapement goal estimation and its importance to wild salmon recovery. 

Page last modified on October 8th, 2010 at 9:25 am