Misty MacDuffee

Most days I am a conservation biologist with Raincoast that focuses on salmon ecology. Other days are different.

[Raincoast Conservation Foundation @Raincoast]

Support what you love:  Charitable tax receipts for 2024 extended until end of February. Make a donation to @Raincoast until February 28 and receive a tax receipt for 2024. #conservation #donate https://t.co/S83DqMkpfS

[Raincoast Conservation Foundation @Raincoast]

.@Duffling said the 370 conditions the federal government imposed on the port expansion are filled with “soft language,” versus concrete mitigations. #salmon #orcas #RBT2 https://t.co/YenC929188

[Raincoast Conservation Foundation @Raincoast]

Comment: Life for Southern Resident killer whales not getting better. @Raincoast op-ed re: #SRKW in the @timescolonist today. #endangered #orcas @Duffling https://t.co/Q8zcff7cQJ

[Misty MacDuffee @Duffling]

this morning's reflection https://t.co/3hiwkBkt73

[Raincoast Conservation Foundation @Raincoast]

Small-scale marsh creation: Right now, members of @TaraGMartin Conservation Decisions Lab, @Raincoast, and @ducanada, will be installing small-scale #marsh creation experiments at Tilbury Island. #habitat #restoration https://t.co/HRfFze3W1v

[Raincoast Conservation Foundation @Raincoast]

We would argue that a fish-trading agreement in an era of biodiversity crisis, a #salmon crisis and a climate crisis is not what we need between nations," @Duffling told Undercurrent News. "We need a conservation agreement between nations..." https://t.co/eaCD4CJWtR

[Misty MacDuffee @Duffling]

@Raincoast @Marine_Valeria @LanceBarrettLen @timescolonist @cutpluggin Hence, the problem is not a general lack of Chinook prey, but a lack of *preferred* prey: large, old Chinook. This, combined with noise & disturbance, means successful foraging is reduced and #SRKW must expend more energy to get fewer calories.

[Misty MacDuffee @Duffling]

@Raincoast @Marine_Valeria @LanceBarrettLen @timescolonist @cutpluggin The removal of immature (but legal sized) Chinook in a marine fishery acts as a selective pressure (a fishery induced evolution) that lowers survival of fish maturing at older ages & bigger sizes, in favour of younger age and smaller size.

[Misty MacDuffee @Duffling]

@Raincoast @Marine_Valeria @LanceBarrettLen @timescolonist @cutpluggin Unlike most other salmon, Chinook can feed and grow in local waters vs Gulf of Alaska & other North Pacific areas. This makes them vulnerable to being caught in coastal fisheries while they are still growing (& therefore immature.

[Misty MacDuffee @Duffling]

@Raincoast @Marine_Valeria @LanceBarrettLen @timescolonist @cutpluggin This is significantly below a size where SRKWs purse them. Roughly 80% of Puget Sound hatchery Chinook salmon fall into this category.

[Misty MacDuffee @Duffling]

@Raincoast @Marine_Valeria @LanceBarrettLen @timescolonist @cutpluggin Agree there are plenty of Chinook, the problem is size & age. #SRKW select for 4yrs old+ & > 74cm. Most Chinook (especially from 🇺🇸hatcheries) are much smaller & younger than 100 yrs ago. In Puget Sound, the ave hatchery Chinook (at maturity) is 62 cm long & <3 yr old

[Misty MacDuffee @Duffling]

@Raincoast @Marine_Valeria @LanceBarrettLen @timescolonist There are legacy effects of the aquarium trade that has certainly reduced the reproductive potential of SRKW (ie breeding females), but our analysis shows they can recover if we adequately address prey (fisheries mngment) and noise. https://t.co/WaPekvtIy0

[Misty MacDuffee @Duffling]

Fact over fiction: The realities of endangered killer whales Kudos @Raincoast scientists @Marine_Valeria @LanceBarrettLen https://t.co/M0cVV8knnN via @timescolonist

[Misty MacDuffee @Duffling]

@Raincoast @Marine_Valeria @LanceBarrettLen @timescolonist The removal of immature (but legal sized) Chinook in a marine fishery acts as a selective pressure (a fishery induced evolution) that lowers survival of fish maturing at older ages and bigger sizes, in favour of younger age and smaller size.

[Misty MacDuffee @Duffling]

@Raincoast @Marine_Valeria @LanceBarrettLen @timescolonist Unlike most other salmon, Chinook can feed and grow in local waters instead of rearing in the Gulf of Alaska and other North Pacific areas. This makes them vulnerable to being caught in coastal fisheries while they are still growing.

[Misty MacDuffee @Duffling]

@Raincoast @Marine_Valeria @LanceBarrettLen @timescolonist This is significantly below a size where SRKWs purse them. Roughly 80% of Puget Sound hatchery Chinook salmon fall into this category.

[Misty MacDuffee @Duffling]

Agree there are plenty of Chinook, the problem is their size & age. SRKW select for 4yrs + & generally > 74cm. Most Chinook (especially from 🇺🇸hatcheries) are much smaller & younger than 100 yrs ago. In Puget Sound, the ave hatchery Chinook (at maturity) is 62 cm long & <3 yr old

[Misty MacDuffee @Duffling]

@Earth42morrow Its not just climate change; its a century of thoughtless & massively unsustainable land use decisions ahead of climate change

[Raincoast Conservation Foundation @Raincoast]

.@Duffling says it’s not solely about declining Chinook, but how those stocks are being harvested. “What if we changed the way we fish Chinook #salmon? What if we stop fishing them in the marine environment and only fish them once they reach the rivers?” https://t.co/98lZ3bTIgm

[Misty MacDuffee @Duffling]

What she said @zerowastekait @SkeenaWild

[SkeenaWild @SkeenaWild]

Kait’s here with the latest updates from our Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) objection case, which we have been at for the last few days.

@WatershedWatch_ @Raincoast