ABSTRACT
The National Marine Fisheries Service received a petition in March 1994 seeking protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act for two populations of pink salmon Oncorhyn-chus gorbuscha in the state of Washington. In response to the petition, NMFS established a Biological Review Team (BRT) of scientists to review the status of pink salmon in Washington, Oregon, and California. Two evolutionarily significant units (ESUs) were identified during the review that correspond to the even- and odd-year broodlines of pink salmon spawning in Washington and southern British Columbia; no permanent pink salmon populations occur in Oregon or California, and no pink salmon are known to occur in Idaho. The BRT unanimously concluded that neither ESU as a whole is presently at risk of extinction. However, the BRT expressed concern about the status of individual populations within both ESUs and recommended that these populations be closely monitored.
