Research Focus
- Juvenile Chinook production and limiting factors, in Puget Sound rivers.
- Juvenile salmon life history patterns and in-stream species interactions.
Education
A.A.S., Peninsula College
B.S., The Evergreen State College
Peter Topping Puget Sound Juvenile Operations Lead
Peter Topping started working for the Washington Department of Fisheries in the spring 1984. He started as a fish technician working for the Wild Salmon Evaluation Unit working with coho salmon on the Deschutes River in south Puget Sound. Peter has been involved in the installation and operation of both juvenile and adult salmon traps and nets of various types in river systems all over Washington State. He has extensive knowledge and experience in the design, construction, deployment, operation and maintenance of various types of juvenile and adult salmon traps and nets. His strengths are in the operational aspects of the evaluation projects, site and gear selection, supervision of trap installations, and gear modification to meet project objectives. Peter has 30 years of experience operating boats in both the river and marine environments.
Peter is the operations lead for all WDFW juvenile trapping operations in Puget Sound. His current field projects include supervision of juvenile evaluations on the Dungeness and Green Rivers and a long-term coho salmon study on the Deschutes River.
