Tom Staveley awarded royal scholarship for research on pink salmon

The purpose of the foundation is to promote research, technological development, and entrepreneurship that support the sustainable use of natural resources and the preservation of biodiversity. Tom has been awarded SEK 100,000 for his continued work and research on the spread of pink salmon in Sweden, the consequences of this new fish species, and its potential impact on our Atlantic salmon and brown trout.

Tom received the scholarship from His Majesty the King during a reception at the Royal Palace on June 12:

– It was such an honour and incredible experience to receive this scholarship and get to meet the king in person at the award ceremony at the Palace in Gamla Stan. We even got a photo together with my daughter, who attended the ceremony with me, and chatted briefly about salmon. This moment will be remembered for a long time and I have to say a big thank you to Josefin Sundin who nominated me for this scholarship.

Tom will use the scholarship, among other things, to identify exactly where and when pink salmon spawn in specific rivers in Sweden, using eDNA and telemetry. With the help of radio telemetry, he will track individual fish to locate their spawning grounds and then compare this information with known spawning sites of Atlantic salmon and brown trout. This, in turn, will generate important insights into the reproductive success of pink salmon in Sweden and its competition with other salmonid species.

Award citation

Pink salmon, originally native to the Pacific Ocean, has recently begun to spread across several countries around the North Atlantic — including along the Swedish west coast — and is now on the verge of entering the Baltic Sea. This rapid expansion raises important ecological concerns. Does pink salmon pose a threat to native salmonid species such as Atlantic salmon and sea trout, or to the biodiversity of our freshwater and marine ecosystems? Known for being fast-growing and aggressive, pink salmon may have significant ecological impacts.

Thomas Staveley conducts research on the distribution and potential ecological consequences of pink salmon in Sweden. Using environmental DNA (eDNA) and telemetry, he investigates where pink salmon occur, how far they migrate upstream in river systems, and where they establish their spawning grounds.

Thomas Staveley is awarded this grant for his research on the emergence of a new salmon species in Sweden and its potential impacts on native Atlantic salmon and sea trout populations.

Read more about pink salmon

Photo: Karin Boo.