Salish Sea Marine Survival Project Publication #3

Members of the Steelhead Workgroup outfitted 12 harbor seals with GPS tags and acoustic receivers to investigate their spatial and temporal interactions with acoustically-tagged steelhead smolts outmigrating through Puget Sound. Researchers also tested the hypothesis that predators hear and target fish implanted with acoustic tags (commonly called a dinner bell effect). Results suggested that harbor seal predation contributes to steelhead mortality in Puget Sound; no evidence was found to support a dinner bell effect. Read more: Berejikian et al. (2016) Predator-prey interactions between harbor seals and migrating steelhead trout smolts revealed by acoustic telemetry. DOI: 10.3354/meps11579