A Roadmap for the Future of Salmon
Over one hundred salmon experts spent more than two years on intensive multidisciplinary, cross-cultural research and analysis of Alaskan salmon — and the people and natural systems that depend upon them.
Where do we go from here?
In November 2018, leaders from the eight SASAP Working Groups, along with external funders and scientists, gathered at the NCEAS headquarters in Santa Barbara to reflect on the knowledge gained from this unique collaborative effort to identify and prioritize future research directions for Alaska salmon.
The group applied three different lenses to considering what we know (and what we don’t!) about the Alaska salmon ecosystem: 1) a topical or disciplinary approach; 2) a place-based approach, and 3) a futures-thinking approach.
The intended audiences for the emerging research agenda include not only the research community but also private and public funders, state and federal policymakers (especially those who set funding policy), Alaska communities and the broader public, conservation practitioners, and industry.
Once constructed, the SASAP Salmon Research Roadmap will:
- Identify critical research, data, and knowledge gaps that, if filled, could help to ensure the long term resilience and sustainability of the Alaska salmon ecosystem, including people
- Enable funding
- Clarify information needs for the public, decision-makers, and stakeholders
- Clarify definitions of common terms used in Alaska salmon science and management
- Support the need for more spaces like SASAP where diverse perspectives can be shared and integrated, leading to an increase in trust and better research and management outcomes
