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Jay Dimond, a research assistant professor at Western Washington University, is working with the Jamestown S’Klallam and Swinomish tribes within the crab research group to help understand Dungeness genetics, including correlations between adaptations and environmental conditions.

Researchers want to determine whether the crab represent multiple genetic populations, and how well connected the crab are from one part of the Salish Sea to the other. This could help answer questions about what happened in the South Sound, and how to manage fisheries to prevent it from happening elsewhere. Genetic diversity is a species’ best defense against environmental change.

“Ultimately, the more data you have about a fishery, the better you’ll be poised to respond to issues that may arise,” Dimond said.