If you live in Washington State, please click here to support Senate Bill 6072 to support critically needed research on forage-fish populations in Washington State.

One of the critical information gaps in monitoring the Puget Sound’s ecosystem is in forage fish ecology and contribution. This important bill will help fund studies of populations of the small, foraging fish known as "forage fish," which includes sardines, anchovies, mackerel, herring, smelt, and others. These small fish are a critically link in our ocean food webs--webs that include the threatened marbled murrelet whose diet is based on these small fish.

Senate Bill 6072, sponsored by Senator Christine Rolfes, has passed through the Senate Committee on Natural Resources & Parks, and currently sits in the Rules Committee.

 It needs nudging now from citizens like you!

The bill would provide valuable insight into a crucial part of the ecosystem that is often overlooked. It would deliver important current information to decision makers  with up-to-date status of all forage fish. It would provide an important contribution to the science necessary to monitor healthy levels of fish and to restore the Puget Sound ecosystem to full health.

UPDATE: On February 25, this bill was placed on the Senate 'X files." This means that the bill will go no further in the process the current legislative session. We will have to wait until next year to see if the bill gets pushed out of the Senate.