FISHERIES
Fisheries services provided by Taylor Associates, Inc. include environmental and biological monitoring program design and implementation, sample collection, data analysis, and report preparation. Our experience covers all aspects of marine and freshwater fisheries monitoring design and implementation. Our main area of expertise is monitoring salmonid populations and their habitat.
At the onset of a project, Taylor Associates, Inc. staff work closely with the client to refine and articulate project objectives then design a monitoring or sample collection program to meet these objectives. The planning and design process culminates in the production of a scope of work and quality assurance project plan which lays out project objectives, permits required, roles and responsibilities, methods of data collection and analysis, and final products to be delivered to the client.
Implementation involves using a variety of passive and active fisheries techniques which range from fyke netting to electrofishing. Other fisheries techniques include beach seining, day/night snorkeling, angling, and fish surveys (redd/spawner/carcass). We operate various field meters and own a 17-foot Boston Whaler for field monitoring. Protocols implemented in our fisheries projects include the Puget Sound Estuarine Habitat Assessment Protocol and the American Fisheries Society Protocol for Determining Bull Trout Presence. We also use a variety of fish habitat survey protocols to document the relationship between fish and their habitat. These protocols include USFS Stream Inventory Handbook and EPA Field Operations Manual for Wadeable Streams. Additionally, Taylor Associates, Inc. is proficient in obtaining federal, state, and local permits for monitoring fish and writing biological assessments for federally listed species.
Data management and analysis often includes organizing and manipulating a large array of fish and habitat data sets to determine species richness, density, population structure (for example length frequency distribution), population trends, and fish/habitat relationships. Data are reduced, summarized, and analyzed with respect to the objectives and protocols set forth in the project scope. This analysis may include descriptive statistics, regression analysis, and ANOVA. In the end a final report is produced which presents data in a clear and concise format, discusses the results relative to the monitoring or sample collection objectives, and provides recommendations for future monitoring activities or other actions as appropriate.
Taylor Associates, Inc. has provided these services for a wide range of projects on the King County marine nearshore, Duwamish River Estuary, and numerous large and small stream systems in eastern and western Washington, Oregon, and Canada. Three recent example projects include: WRIA 9 Juvenile Salmonid Habitat Utilization Studies, monitoring for the presence of Salmonids during Duwamish Waterway dredging activities, and Skagit River Bull Trout Surveys.
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