September 28, 2024 — NOAA scientists have upgraded a crucial tool for Chinook salmon conservation. This genetic reference tool allows researchers to pinpoint the river system individual fish come from, enabling more precise management and protection of threatened and endangered populations.
“It’s like giving every fish a unique genetic fingerprint,” says Donald Van Doornik, a NOAA Fisheries fish biologist and lead author of a new paper describing the work in the North American Journal of Fisheries Management. “We can use this fingerprint to figure out where that fish came from by comparing it to other fish’s DNA.”