About
The WFRC focuses exclusively on fisheries science and is recognized as a national and international resource for research on fish disease, fish passage and restoration following dam removal. We conduct research relevant to a wide variety of fish such as lampreys, sturgeons, salmonids, cyprinids and catastomids, and fish groups such as forage fishes and desert fishes, and other aquatic organisms.
A Message from Center Director, Michael Schmidt
Welcome to the U.S. Geological Survey’s Western Fisheries Research Center (WFRC).
Seventy-Five Years of Science - The Story of the U.S. Geological Survey's Western Fisheries Research Center, 1935-2010
As of January 2010, 75 years have elapsed since Dr. Frederic Fish initiated the pioneering research program that would evolve into today's Western Fisheries Research Center (WFRC). Fish began his research working alone in the basement of the recently opened Fisheries Biological Laboratory on Lake Union in Seattle, Washington.
Our Mission
Our mission is to provide the scientific understanding and innovative technology needed to support sound management and conservation of our nation’s natural resources, with an emphasis on aquatic ecosystems, fisheries biology, and fish health.