The Western
Fisheries Research Center (WFRC) is one of 17 ecosystem-focused U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Science Centers across the United States. It is one of only two USGS science centers that focus exclusively on
fisheries science. It is recognized as a national and international resource for research on fish disease, fish passage and restoration following dam removal. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the WFRC is geographically dispersed in the western U.S., with four field stations in Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Our geographic diversity across ecoregions promotes research relevant to a wide variety of fish such as lampreys, sturgeons, salmonids, cyprinids and catastomids, varied fish groups such as forage fishes and desert fishes, and other aquatic organisms and communities occupying the diverse ecoregions of the western U.S.
The mission of the WFRC is to provide the scientific understanding and the innovative technology needed to support sound
management and conservation of nation’s natural resources, with an emphasis on aquatic ecosystems,
fisheries biology, and fish health. Our goal is that natural resource managers, policy makers, and the scientific community will recognize the WFRC as a premier source of objective and socially-relevant scientific information.
Last Updated on: Mar 11, 2025