NSU graduate Magie studies salmon populations

Fisheries biologist Robert Magie is still amazed when he finds 30 to 50-pound fish in rivers smaller than Baron Fork Creek. Pursuing salmon comes naturally for the 1998 Northeastern State University graduate whose lifelong fascination with fish and at a young age led to his career studying salmon.

"Its magical! I love working with such a socially and economically important resource. And of course I enjoy fishing for salmon and steelhead," said Magie. "Nothing beats the taste of fresh salmon."

Magie is a supervisory fisheries biologist with the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission. Under contract to the National Marine Fisheries Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, he supervises all PSMFC employees at NOAAs Point Adams Research Station at the mouth of the Columbia River near Astoria, Ore.

Salmon populations are big news in the northwest, mainly due to their decline since the early 1970s. Magie said the reduction is partly because of construction of several dams along waterways and that today's "salmon runs" involve far fewer fish than those reported in the past.

"Whole runs of fish were completely wiped out and fishing communities like Astoria were devastated," he said. "Since that time fishery managers and researchers have strived to minimize the impacts of dams and their resulting reservoirs on migrating salmon and steelhead, which evolved in a more riverine environment."

Research in which Magie was directly involved contributed to successful dam modifications now being installed throughout the Columbia River basin.

"Through the efforts of many researchers, effective dam modification for fish passage and proper management of the reservoirs has resulted in a high rate of survival through the hydrosystem," he said. "Currently the annual estimation of survival, which I study, is an essential piece in understanding the success of the annual hydrosystem manipulation for fish passage."

The number of adult salmon returning to the Columbia and Snake River systems is on the rise, which Magie said must be partly attributed to sound research and effective management.

"I feel that even though my role in the big picture is small due to the vast amount of research conducted in the Columbia River Basin, the projects Ive been involved with have contributed to the recent success of these fish stocks," he said. "I cant imagine doing anything else."

Magie has authored several publications. They include the results of tagging and tracking of young salmon, radio-tag and aerial tracking of the Pacific lamprey and fish tracking results near dams. His work has been presented to the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

He has presented research at the annual meeting of the Oregon Chapter of the American Fisheries Society on adult lamprey passage at Willamette Falls Dam and on development and implementations of a mobile PIT-tag device. The tag is a 12-millimeter long tube housing a microchip and antenna, allowing researchers to track the movements of individual fish.

As is often the case in research, fundraising is also essential to Magie's work.

"I have presented our PIT-trawl research findings annually to the Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District, at their annual Anadromous Fish Evaluation Program summary meeting," said Magie. "This is a funding agency, and since this research is funded annually, my involvement in securing funds for existing and new projects occurs on a regular basis."

Magie is a 1993 graduate of Tahlequah High School. He graduated from NSU with a double major in fish and wildlife biology with an emphasis in fisheries. He and his wife Cindy met in lymnology class while at NSU and married after graduation.