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PINK SALMON BOOM

In March 2026, I was the lead artist on a series of Seattle Times stories about pink salmon—a little-known species benefiting from climate change and reshaping Pacific Northwest food webs, from Chinook salmon to orcas. I combined data analysis, science illustration, and front-end development to approach the same body of research from multiple angles: building interactive charts, rendering illustrations, and writing and developing an interactive, scrolling story that transformed complex science into an engaging experience for a broad audience. Throughout the project, I collaborated with an environmental reporter, an international salmon expert, and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to ensure accuracy. Despite its niche subject, the series performed strongly, drawing approximately 127,000 page views in the first two weeks, with 75% of traffic coming from search.

Explore selected graphics below, or view the interactive, scrolling story: “Why pink salmon became climate winners.”

Ruggerone, an international salmon expert, says pinks are benefiting from climate change. They mature in just two years and are less likely to encounter warming waters and degraded habitat that may be stressing other species. Their numbers have surged so much that pinks now make up nearly 80% of all North Pacific salmon.

As pink salmon grow in the open ocean, they compete for the same zooplankton that Chinook, steelhead, and other salmonids depend on. Southern resident orcas prefer Chinook but they are increasingly hard to find, especially in odd years when pinks are highly abundant.

Here’s a selection of illustrations from the scrollytelling feature, “Why pink salmon became climate winners.” I created the illustrations digitally in Procreate on an iPad, drawing inspiration from my background in traditional science illustration. Concurrently, I also built the scroller using HTML, CSS and Javascript, and added responsive labeling with ai2html.

Illustration of ocean and spawning forms of pink salmon (Illustration by Fiona Martin / The Seattle Times).
Pinks are the smallest Pacific salmon. During spawning, male pink salmon develop a hump, earning them the nickname “humpies.” They live 2 years and spawn in odd years, traveling only about 30–40 miles upstream (Illustration by Fiona Martin / The Seattle Times).
Illustration of ocean and spawning forms of Chinook salmon (Illustration by Fiona Martin / The Seattle Times).
Chinook are the largest Pacific salmon, and live about 4 years in Puget Sound. Their spawning grounds overlap with the pinks, though they can also travel hundreds of miles upstream (Illustration by Fiona Martin / The Seattle Times).
Chinook salmon fry are well-camouflaged with stripes and spots and spend up to 2 years in freshwater before returning to the ocean (Illustration by Fiona Martin / The Seattle Times).
Chinook salmon fry are well-camouflaged and spend up to 2 years in freshwater before returning to the ocean (Illustration by Fiona Martin / The Seattle Times).
Male and female pink salmon—in spawning colors ranging from olive green to muted pink—typically swim 30–40 miles upstream to spawn (Illustration by Fiona Martin / The Seattle Times).
Toward the end of their two-year life cycle, pink salmon return to Puget Sound to spawn in odd years. A threefold increase of pink salmon has encroached upon spawning Chinook salmon, leading to reduced reproductive success of Chinook.
Following her instincts, a female pink salmon prepares a nest (called a redd) by turning on her side and beating the gravel with her tail, releasing a cloud of sediment downstream (Illustration by Fiona Martin / The Seattle Times).
A female pink salmon prepares a nest (called a redd) by turning on her side and beating the gravel with her tail, releasing a cloud of sediment downstream (Illustration by Fiona Martin / The Seattle Times).
A snaggletoothed male jockeys for a position beside her. The release of eggs and sperm is carefully orchestrated. This dance is replicated millions of times across Puget Sound watersheds, where an estimated 8 million humpies returned last fall (Illustration by Fiona Martin / The Seattle Times).
A snaggletoothed male jockeys for a position beside her. The release of eggs and sperm is carefully orchestrated. (Illustration by Fiona Martin / The Seattle Times).

Process

To get the colors right, I spent time observing pink salmon in person along the Green River. One thing field guides rarely capture is how vibrant these fish are when they’re alive in good lighting—or even shortly after death. Underwater, light quickly attenuates reds and pinks, making the fish appear much duller. Fish that have been dead longer also lose much of their color. Guidebooks vary widely in how they depict pink salmon, so seeing real fish up close was essential for building accurate illustrations.

Sketch of male pink salmon showing characteristic hump.
Sketch of male pink salmon (Illustration by Fiona Martin / The Seattle Times).
Photo of a male pink salmon that had just died, in spawning colors.
Reference photo of a male pink salmon that had just died along the Green River in Flaming Geyser State Park. (Photo by Fiona Martin)

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