Impact Report 2025
Year In Review
A Year to Celebrate
2025 has been an extraordinary year for the SeaDoc Society. We celebrated our 25th anniversary - a quarter century of investing in conservation science to ensure the long-term abundance of the Salish Sea.
We expanded our research into Southern Resident Killer Whale health by hiring a new scientist, Dr. Deborah Giles, and merging with Wild Orca. During our summer field season collecting data to protect this endangered species, we also responded to disentangle humpback whales and Steller sea lions when we saw them suffering.
We funded four new competitive science grants, and more than 200 of our friends gathered together to make the Wine & Sea Auction the best yet in raising support to make all of our work possible.
In this report, we are honored to share the impact that the SeaDoc Society makes in our mission to protect marine wildlife in this place we love. Thank you for your partnership, and for your dedication to creating a vibrant future for the Salish Sea.
With deep gratitude,
Leigh Ann Gilmer, Regional Director
Joe Gaydos, Science Director
Protecting Wildlife
through
Innovative Research
SeaDoc Society works to improve the health of the Salish Sea at the full ecosystem level. In 2025, the SeaDoc Society celebrated 25 years of conducting and funding critical marine research to uncover the environmental factors threatening to unravel the vital web of life in the Salish Sea.
Joining Forces to Save a Species
Early this year, the SeaDoc Society merged with Wild Orca, expanding our ability to research critically-endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales.
We brought on Dr. Deborah Giles as SeaDoc Society's killer whale scientist. With her came our first SeaDOG - Eba, the whale-poop-sniffing canine!
This team of Giles and her best friend bring to SeaDoc nearly 20 years of data that has used scent-detection dogs to sniff out orca scat for the team to collect and analyze .
This non-invasive way to gather health information on Southern Resident orcas - in addition to our drone data collection - gives us insight into hormones that show conditions like stress and pregnancy. With a population hovering around only 75 individuals, these endangered killer whales need all the help they can get.
SeaDoc's ecosystem science looks at all of the factors that Southern Residents face on their road to recovery. With your support, we are proud to invest in growing our team to save this iconic Salish Sea species.
Advancing Our Understanding
of the Salish Sea
SeaDoc's dive program has yielded important scientific discoveries. This year, we documented a "jackpot recruitment" of young-of-the-year rockfish. These long-lived fish (some can live longer than 150 years!) do not give birth annually. Rather, there are baby booms in single, sporadic years. Considering these fish take years to mature and reproduce, and two of the 28 species found in the Salish Sea are on the Endangered Species List, this scientific finding gives us hope for ongoing recovery efforts.
We've also played a key role in surveying the extent and devastation of Sea Star Wasting Disease. Since 2013 when the initial outbreak occurred, we've teamed up with citizen scientific divers to find that the disease had caused a 90% decline in sunflower sea stars. These population dropoffs have had an enormous impact on coastal waters and the Salish Sea, where seagrasses depend on sunflower sea stars to control the number of their purple urchin predators.
In 2025, scientists have at last identified a culprit of Sea Star Wasting Disease: vibrio pectenicida. Now that researchers know the bacteria causing infection, collaborators are hard at work to find and implement methods for resilience and recovery.
Funding Critical Science
SeaDoc Society funded four novel science projects this year, partnering with Tribes and science collaborators, researching the Salish Sea from the sea floor to the outer coast.
Investing in projects means that SeaDoc can advance urgent science knowledge beyond the capacity of our team alone. These projects are selected after a rigorous process by our Scientific Advisory Committee, and must aim for a positive conservation impact.
We don't do science for the sake of science.
We are dedicated to science for change.
This year's projects include:
Testing a new way to restore eelgrass with the San Juan Islands Conservation District
Tracking Dungeness crab molt cycles to support smarter resource management with the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe
Determining if clam gardens help clams survive climate change with the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community
Linking acoustics and behavior in Southern Resident Killer Whales with the Center for Whale Research
Inspiring Conservation
through
Award-Winning Education
Nominated for Emmys!
New Episodes in 2025
At SeaDoc, we believe that the work is not done until the story is told. How can we expect people to protect the Salish Sea if they don't know about its amazing biodiversity and feel connected to its wildlife?
Both science and education are the core pillars of our mission. We aim to inspire people to learn through educational outreach that includes our YouTube wildlife adventure series, Salish Sea Wild, our award-winning podcast Pod of Orcas, and our monthly newsletter that is chock-full of the research and stories that you make possible with your support.
In 2025, SeaDoc Society was honored with TWO Emmy Nominations for Salish Sea Wild! The Northwest Chapter of the Television Academy of Arts and Sciences nominated SeaDoc for best documentary in the long-form environmental category for two episodes: A Shocking Story About Sandpipers and Racing to Restore Abalone.
Check out both episodes here, plus two new episodes we've released this year: The Beavers of Our Tidal Waters and The Salish Sea's Grizzly Connection.
Wine & Sea Auction
This July, more than 250 guests gathered on sunny Orcas Island to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the SeaDoc Society.
This amazing community came together to raise a record-breaking $450,000 to support our mission to ensure the health of marine wildlife in the Salish Sea.
As we look to 2026, we are grateful to you for making our work possible.
We have big goals in store to protect this place we love, the Salish Sea. Thank you to the more than 750 families and individuals who donate to support the SeaDoc Society.
SeaDoc Society's Team
Justin Cox, Communications Manager
Madison Churchill, Social Media Editor
Bob Friel, Salish Sea Wild Producer
Joe Gaydos, Science Director
Deborah Giles, Killer Whale Scientist
Leigh Ann Gilmer, Regional Director
Michelle Homewood, Administrative Assistant
Cat Lo, Research Assistant
Erika Nilson, Executive Assistant
Aisha Rashid, Whale Scat Project
Board of Directors
Jeff Anderson
Eleanor Brekke
Janice D'Amato
Laura Donald
Cecilia Gobin
Ardi Kveven
Jess Newley
Emery Rhodes
Laurie St. Aubin
Barb Tisi
Scott White
Kirsten Gilardi, Ex-Officio
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