High-Seas Salmonid Tag Recoveries & Expedition Application

Explore high-seas salmonid tag-recovery database records and International Year of the Salmon (IYS) high seas expedition data in an interactive mapping environment. This application was commissioned by the Committee on Scientific Research and Statistics (CSRS) as part of the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission ‘s (NPAFC) Science Plan. The IYS was a research initiative of the NPAFC and the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization (NASCO). The web app is currently configured to view best at desktop size.

What is the High-Seas Salmonid Tag Recoveries & Expedition Application?

High seas salmon tagging has been conducted since the 1950s by placing disk tags, and more recently satellite and data storage tags, on salmon and steelhead during research cruises in the North Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Alaska, and Bering Sea. This interactive mapping application allows users to visualize and explore high-seas salmonid tag-recovery database records and IYS high seas expedition data in an interactive mapping environment. The web app is configured for desktop use and may not display properly on tablet/mobile devices.

Take a tour of the map and functions by clicking on the Application Guide button.

Pacific Salmon and Steelhead High Seas Tag Recovery Program

Information collected by data storage tags (DSTs) carried by salmon and steelhead during their high-seas migrations provides researchers with information about movement patterns, migration routes, and changes in behavioral in response due to changing environmental conditions.

High seas salmon tagging began in the 1950s and continues to this day by placing disk tags, satellite tags, and DSTs on salmon and steelhead during research cruises in the North Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Alaska, and Bering Sea. These studies have been used to investigate ocean distribution, migration, and growth of salmon at sea. Reporting salmon and steelhead tag recoveries is important because it provides information regarding the distribution and ocean habitat of salmon while at sea. These life histories can be influenced by environmental changes and tracking such changes provides knowledge essential for the conservation of salmon stocks in North Pacific ecosystems. Recoveries of undamaged electronic tags is especially useful because they provide detailed information about salmon behavior and their environment, such as swimming depth, water temperature, and location. Disk and electronic tags are easy to see because they are placed outside the fish’s body, near the dorsal fin. If anyone ever recovers such tags, they are encouraged to send it to the NPAFC Secretariat or to any address that may appear on the tag itself.

Investigators considering exploring and using the data files from DSTs will find the information provided in the NPAFC Doc. 1512 metadata report crucial to understanding data file organization, column designations, and other data considerations essential for the appropriate use of this information. Although the report provides a brief background on the history and types of data tags used, it is primarily concerned with providing information, insight, and guidance to users of the data, with particular emphasis on the data’s limitations. Explanations are provided for raw and modified tag data files, individual tag metadata, and graphs for data visualization. For additional background, the report includes a list of published peer-reviewed articles and processed reports based on data originating from these DSTs.

Core Features

Release and Recovery Location

Discover over 18,000 tags with release and recovery location data—with the ability to utilize World Ocean Database data layers.

DST Graphs

Includes 82 DST graphs provided by the High Seas Salmon Research Program (HSSRP) of the University of Washington.

IYS High Seas Expedition Data

International Year of the Salmon (IYS) sampling events (Trawl/CTD/Zooplankton) taken from High Seas Expeditions, 2019–2022—with links to original data.

Citing this Resource

Tag data will be updated regularly as new tags are released and recovered. Please use the following citations when citing the interactive map:

High Seas Tag Recoveries Interactive Map
Please cite the High-seas Tag Recoveries map within the High-seas Salmonid Tag Recoveries & Expedition Application in the following manner:

NPAFC (North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission).  2024.  North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission Pacific Salmon and Steelhead High Seas Tag Recoveries.  May 1, 2024.  

International Year of the Salmon (IYS) High-seas Expeditions Interactive Map
Please cite the IYS High-seas Expeditions map within the High-seas Salmonid Tag Recoveries & Expedition Application in the following manner:

NPAFC (North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission).  2024.  North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission International Year of the Salmon High Seas Expeditions.  May 1, 2024. 

If you would like access to the INPFC/NPAFC High-Seas Tag-Recovery Database, the High Seas Salmon Research Program (HSSRP) Data Storage Tag (DST) Data Files, or the Integrated Data Collection from the International Year of the Salmon High Seas Expeditions, please use the buttons below. You will be re-directed to new pages with detailed descriptions about the resource and gain access to downloadable data and metadata in a variety of formats.

Updated May 27, 2024 | © North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission

This resource is published under a Creative Commons BY 4.0 Deed license. You are free to share and adapt this resource, but you must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.

For metadata pertaining to this resource, please visit the NPAFC Metadata Catalogue here.