West Coast
West Coast
From killer whales slicing through waves to salmon jumping rapids on their journey home, marine life fills and defines the waters of the West Coast. Fishing the Pacific lifts spirits, feeds families and supports the economies of California, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. We harvest close to a billion pounds of seafood, worth nearly $1 billion, each year.
The ocean also shapes our communities and culture, from the colorful heritage of Cannery Row to tribes celebrating the season’s first salmon to return from the sea. Parents teach their kids to fish the West Coast’s 7,000 miles of shore and view wildlife such as elephant seals, sea turtles, and sea lions. Our prolific bays and estuaries nurture Dungeness crabs, oysters, and other delectable shellfish prized around the world.
NOAA Fisheries’West Coast Region,Northwest Fisheries Science Center, andSouthwest Fisheries Science Center work together to apply the latest science to sustainably manage the rich marine resources of the region for generations to come.
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Featured News
A trained response team uses an underwater camera to view the lines entangling a humpback whale off Washington’s Olympic Peninsula in 2019. A proposed rule would help reduce risk of entanglements. Photo credit: Pacific Northwest Large Whale Entanglement Response Network. NOAA Permit #18786-03NOAA Fisheries Seeks Input on Groundfish Rules Proposed to Reduce Entanglements
Show Seafood Some Love and Get Heart-Healthy!
An underwater glider ballasting (stabilizing) at the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center in Honolulu, Hawai‘i, in preparation for the 2026 glider challenge. Credit: NOAA FisheriesNOAA Fisheries Launches Underwater Glider Challenge in Hawai‘i
An emergency rule increases catch limits for shortspine thornyhead and two other groundfish species, increasing fishing opportunities off the West Coast. Photo by NOAA Fisheries/West Coast Region.
Building engineered log jams on Shale Creek. Credit: Ben Matthews/Quinault Indian NationNotices & Rules
Upcoming Events
Pacific Hake/Whiting Treaty: U.S. - Canada JMC and AP Meeting 2026
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Open Funding Opportunities
Featured Highlights
Tidal wetlands in the Nisqually River Basin, where restored habitat fosters growth of juvenile salmon and steelhead on their way to the ocean.
Northwest Science
We use science to improve people’s lives, save species, and protect ecosystems. Our scientists conduct cutting-edge biological, economic, and oceanographic research. We observe and monitor living marine resources and their environments in the Pacific Northwest and California Current ecosystem. We also study the impacts of environmental variability and climate change on marine ecosystems and fishery socioeconomics. Together with decision-makers at NOAA, other federal agencies, states, and others, we apply this scientific knowledge to make our environment healthier and improve people’s lives and livelihoods.
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Science News & Blogs
NOAA Fisheries Launches Underwater Glider Challenge in Hawai‘i
An underwater glider ballasting (stabilizing) at the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center in Honolulu, Hawai‘i, in preparation for the 2026 glider challenge. Credit: NOAA FisheriesConflicting Ocean Indicators Suggest Moderate Returns of Pacific Salmon
Juvenile salmonScientists Breed Sunflower Sea Stars Key to Reviving California’s Imperiled Kelp Forests
Sunflower sea star in an aquarium exhibit. Credit: Adobe StockNew Test Measures Toxin from Tires in Marine Life, Helping Understand Risk to Marine Species and Ecosystems
Dive Surveys Reveal Promising Signs for Rockfish and Sea Stars off Washington Coast
Southwest Science
Our research encompasses the waters of the California Current and adjacent inland watersheds, bays and estuaries of California. Extending along the U.S. Coast from Canada to Mexico, the California Current is characterized by some of the most dramatic annual, interannual, and decadal environmental variability in the world. These waters support valuable commercial, tribal, and recreational fisheries and are also home to many protected species of marine mammals, turtles, and seabirds.
Our scientists conduct biological, ecological and oceanographic research, observations, and monitoring of the region’s living marine resources and their environments. We also conduct research on the impacts of environmental variability and climate change on marine ecosystems and on fishery and conservation socio-economics. We work with numerous partners and our NOAA Fisheries counterparts—the Northwest, Pacific Islands and Alaska Fisheries Science Centers and the West Coast Regional Office—to provide sound science for domestic and international management decisions. The ultimate goal of these efforts is to ensure that the region’s living marine resources remain at healthy and sustainable levels, as functioning parts of their ecosystems, and continue to enhance the quality of life for the public.
We also conduct research throughout the Pacific Ocean and in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica.
Research Topics
- Aquaculture
- California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI)
- California Current Integrated Ecosystem Assessment (CCIEA)
- Socio-economics of Eastern Pacific and West Coast Fisheries
- Cetacean Genome Project
- California Central Valley Chinook Salmon Life Cycle Modeling
- Social-economics of California Salmonid Habitat and Water Resource
- Leatherback Turtle Recovery
Resources
- Ocean Technology Development Test Tank
- ERDDAP data server
- SWFSC Data on the NOAA Big Data Program (BDP)
- SWFSC Metadata Library on Fisheries InPort
- Marine Heatwave Tracker
- Ecosystem-based and Dynamic Ocean Management
- Dynamic West Coast Sea Surface Temperature Interactive
- Pacific Fisheries Information Network
Science News & Blogs
NOAA Fisheries Launches Underwater Glider Challenge in Hawai‘i
An underwater glider ballasting (stabilizing) at the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center in Honolulu, Hawai‘i, in preparation for the 2026 glider challenge. Credit: NOAA FisheriesSound Bytes: Meet the Pilots of the Underwater Glider Challenge
Glider team aboard R/V Kaunānā in Hawai'i, preparing to deploy 8 gliders. Credit Marvin Chea/UH Marine Center.Conflicting Ocean Indicators Suggest Moderate Returns of Pacific Salmon
Juvenile salmonScientists Breed Sunflower Sea Stars Key to Reviving California’s Imperiled Kelp Forests
Sunflower sea star in an aquarium exhibit. Credit: Adobe StockNew Test Measures Toxin from Tires in Marine Life, Helping Understand Risk to Marine Species and Ecosystems
Fisheries Overview
We collaborate extensively with the Pacific Fishery Management Council, Native American Indian tribes, and the four states within the region in our management of highly migratory species (e.g., tunas, sharks), coastal pelagic species (e.g., sardine and anchovy), groundfish, and salmon, as well as the habitats upon which they rely.
We participate in the implementation of numerous international treaties and other agreements to sustainably conserve fisheries for cross-boundary species including highly migratory fish, particularly tuna; whiting; halibut, and salmon; and protect marine mammals of mutual interest to nations of the Pacific.
We also ensure that federal ocean fisheries along the West Coast are managed to uphold Native American Tribal treaty fishing rights.
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Fisheries News
Protected Marine Life
We conserve and restore marine resources on the West Coast. Under theEndangered Species Act, we develop protections, designate critical habitat, implement recovery, and authorize scientific research permits for threatened and endangered species. We also manage and conserve marine mammals under theMarine Mammal Protection Act and coordinate and support the marine mammal stranding networks. Our work covers a vast geography, including the inland and coastal waters of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California.
Habitat protection and restoration are critical components of species recovery and conservation. We work with partners to protect and restore habitats necessary for species recovery, using an ecosystem-based approach that considers benefits, interactions, and trade-offs for multiple species.
Marine Mammal Protection
- Our Work Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act
- Marine Mammals on the West Coast
- Report Dead, Injured, Stranded, or Entangled Marine Mammals
- Saving the Southern Resident Killer Whales
- Large Whale Entanglement
- Permits & Authorizations
- Share the Shore: Responsible Marine Mammal Viewing
- Southern Resident Killer Whale Updates
Pacific Salmon Recovery
- Saving Pacific Salmon and Steelhead
- Report Card on Recovery: Reviews Assess 28 Salmon and Steelhead Species
- Salmon and Steelhead Research in the Pacific Northwest
- Climate Impacts to Salmon of the Pacific Northwest
- Recovery Through Reintroductions for California’s Central Valley Salmon
- Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund
- Salmon Education Materials for the Classroom
- What You Can Do to Help Recover Salmon
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Marine Life News
NOAA Fisheries Launches Underwater Glider Challenge in Hawai‘i
An underwater glider ballasting (stabilizing) at the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center in Honolulu, Hawai‘i, in preparation for the 2026 glider challenge. Credit: NOAA FisheriesFirst Joint NOAA Killer Whale Survey Examines Endangered Southern Residents’ Shift to Coast
Research scientist Brad Hanson of the Northwest Fisheries Science Center steers a 24-foot Zodiac while the Storm Petrel parallels the course in the background. The two vessels took part in the first joint NOAA survey to study Southern Resident killer whales. Photo by Paul Hillman/NOAA Fisheries under permit 27052.Most Threatened and Endangered Pacific Coast Salmon Populations Increased After Listings
The McKenzie River Trust is working with local tribes and groups to restore tidal wetlands that once supported coho, Chinook salmon and steelhead along the Lower Siuslaw River in Oregon. The restoration of such habitat with community support has benefitted salmon and steelhead listed under the Endangered Species Act, a scientific assessment found. Photo courtesy McKenzie River Trust.
Experts Euthanize Oregon Humpback Whale After Unsuccessful Attempt to Free it from Beach
A young humpback whale stranded on the Oregon Coast north of Yachats on November 15, prompting a response of trained teams from across the West Coast through the West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network. The whale was entangled when it first came ashore, but many of the lines were later cut away, leaving a short length jutting from the animal's mouth. Credit: West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding NetworkHabitat Overview
We help other federal agencies conserve habitat for protected species and foressential fish habitat to support commercial, tribal, and recreational fisheries. We review federal proposals for land and water development to make sure these activities do not further degrade habitat or harm protected species. We also provide technical assistance and funding to supportrestoration activities that improve habitat. With our partners, we are working on hundreds of projects to protect and restore vital habitat for West Coast fish and wildlife populations.
Habitat Consultations and Resources
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Habitat News
Scientists Breed Sunflower Sea Stars Key to Reviving California’s Imperiled Kelp Forests
Sunflower sea star in an aquarium exhibit. Credit: Adobe Stock
Southern California Restoration: NOAA and Partners Lead Coastal Recovery 10 Years After Refugio Oil Spill
Volunteers are activated to help with efforts that enhance native beach dune vegetation. Shown here: Baby blue eyes (Nemophila menziesii). (Credit: Luca Vincent)Species Overview
On the West Coast and in the watersheds of Washington, Oregon, California, and Idaho, we manage commercial and recreational fisheries for more than 100 species of salmon, groundfish, coastal pelagics such as anchovy and sardine, and highly migratory species such as billfish, sharks, and tunas. We work to recover and conserve threatened and endangered marine and anadromous species, as well as manage and conserve marine mammals. Our Science Centers conduct cutting-edge biological, economic, and oceanographic research, as well as observations and monitoring of living marine resources and their environments. Below are links to learn about a few of our West Coast species. You can also see a list ofall species managed on the West Coast.
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Species News
Show Seafood Some Love and Get Heart-Healthy!
NOAA Fisheries Launches Underwater Glider Challenge in Hawai‘i
An underwater glider ballasting (stabilizing) at the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center in Honolulu, Hawai‘i, in preparation for the 2026 glider challenge. Credit: NOAA FisheriesScientists Breed Sunflower Sea Stars Key to Reviving California’s Imperiled Kelp Forests
Sunflower sea star in an aquarium exhibit. Credit: Adobe Stock