Sep 3, 2026 · 6 min · 8 segments
What happens when a fish gets sick—and can disease shape the future of an entire population? In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Paul Hershberger of the United States Geological Survey Marrowstone…
Paul HershbergerGuestHostHost
Well, I'm Paul Hershberger, and I'm the station leader and the lead scientist at the U.S. Geological Survey's Merrillstone Marine Field Station in Washington State.
So set the scene for us a little bit.
Tell us about the Herring Research and Monitoring Program that you're a part of.
Well, it's a large program run out of Cordova, actually, and a large part of it is at the Science Center.
And it's interested in trying to understand the factors that are, first of all, cause of decline of herring in Prince William Sound, but more importantly are the causes for the failed recovery of herring in Prince William Sound.
And my small component of the project really is looking at the effects of pathogens and diseases, possibly as contributing factors that prevent the recovery.
What kind of information are you generating with your work?
Every year we collect field samples of herring from Prince William Sound looking at the levels and intensities of different pathogens.
So in particular, we have three different pathogens we're primarily concerned with, a couple of viruses and a parasite.
In addition to that, we do quite a bit of laboratory work at our facility in Washington State where we're interested in understanding sort of the basic mechanisms of these diseases.
Well, I'm Paul Hershberger, and I'm the station leader and the lead scientist at the U.S. Geological Survey's Merrillstone Marine Field Station in Washington State.
So set the scene for us a little bit.
Tell us about the Herring Research and Monitoring Program that you're a part of.
Well, it's a large program run out of Cordova, actually, and a large part of it is at the Science Center.
And it's interested in trying to understand the factors that are, first of all, cause of decline of herring in Prince William Sound, but more importantly are the causes for the failed recovery of herring in Prince William Sound.
And my small component of the project really is looking at the effects of pathogens and diseases, possibly as contributing factors that prevent the recovery.
What kind of information are you generating with your work?
Every year we collect field samples of herring from Prince William Sound looking at the levels and intensities of different pathogens.
So in particular, we have three different pathogens we're primarily concerned with, a couple of viruses and a parasite.
In addition to that, we do quite a bit of laboratory work at our facility in Washington State where we're interested in understanding sort of the basic mechanisms of these diseases.
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