The bounty of the Salish Sea
Faculty Mentor
Larry Cebula
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
4-14-2026 11:30 AM
End Date
4-14-2026 1:30 PM
Location
PUB NCR
Primary Discipline of Presentation
History
Abstract
Reef net fishing is at the core of a struggle that intersects commercial fishing interests, the traditions and rich history of the tribes that inhabit the San Juans, and the delicate ecosystem of the waters that make up the Salish sea. The delicate ecosystem of the Salish Sea relies heavily on the ebb and flow of salmon migrations. Salmon runs numbering in the millions were reduced to a trickle due to a mix of overfishing, pollution stemming from the myriad of industries that dump waste into the sound, and a lack of oversight from any kind of governmental body. Year after year, salmon populations dropped as industries along the coast built themselves up, and commercial fishing used more and more devastating methods to exploit the once plentiful schools of fish. For this, i will design a posterboard and paper to present at the symposium. I have take multiple classes on public history and anthropology, along with an academic trip to the san juans to research the issue. I also have been in contact with the local history museum of San Juan island, and multiple historians studying the region as well. I have also aken advantage of the numerous resources available, including newspapers and scholarly articles both from the San Juans and the regions that border the salish sea to assist in telling a story from multiple viewpoints.
Recommended Citation
Brickett, Mason, "The bounty of the Salish Sea" (2026). 2026 Symposium. 32.
https://dc.ewu.edu/srcw_2026/ps_2026/p2_2026/32
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
The bounty of the Salish Sea
PUB NCR
Reef net fishing is at the core of a struggle that intersects commercial fishing interests, the traditions and rich history of the tribes that inhabit the San Juans, and the delicate ecosystem of the waters that make up the Salish sea. The delicate ecosystem of the Salish Sea relies heavily on the ebb and flow of salmon migrations. Salmon runs numbering in the millions were reduced to a trickle due to a mix of overfishing, pollution stemming from the myriad of industries that dump waste into the sound, and a lack of oversight from any kind of governmental body. Year after year, salmon populations dropped as industries along the coast built themselves up, and commercial fishing used more and more devastating methods to exploit the once plentiful schools of fish. For this, i will design a posterboard and paper to present at the symposium. I have take multiple classes on public history and anthropology, along with an academic trip to the san juans to research the issue. I also have been in contact with the local history museum of San Juan island, and multiple historians studying the region as well. I have also aken advantage of the numerous resources available, including newspapers and scholarly articles both from the San Juans and the regions that border the salish sea to assist in telling a story from multiple viewpoints.
