Juvenile Salmonid Metrics from the 23-Year West Coast Ocean Survey

The Juvenile Salmon and Ocean Ecosystem Survey (JSOES) is a long-term dataset from NOAA's Northwest Fisheries Science Center. It contains biological metrics like lengths, weights, genetics, and otolith microchemistry for juvenile salmonids from the Columbia River plume and Northern California Current. The survey has been conducted for over 23 years, demonstrating correlations between ocean conditions and salmon survival.

Use Cases

• Forecasting adult salmon returns based on ocean indicators mentioned in the description
• Modeling trophic dynamics and survival mechanisms for juvenile salmonids
• Evaluating the impact of ocean conditions versus freshwater mitigation efforts
• Analyzing growth patterns using IGF-1 and otolith microchemistry data

Strengths

• 23 years of continuous sampling, making it the longest-running salmon survey on the west coast
• Data includes multiple biological metrics: lengths, weights, genetics, IGF-1, and otolith microchemistry
• Proven ability to forecast adult salmon returns one to two years in advance

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Data is provided in PDF format, which may require extraction for analysis

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Juvenile Salmon and Ocean Ecosystem Survey (JSOES) sampling

Time Range

Over 23 years of sampling (as of FY20)

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-14 22:56:02.361458; freshness should be verified

Geography

Columbia River plume and Northern California Current nearshore ecosystem