Of the seven species of Pacific salmon, only one, masu salmon, Oncorhynchus masou, spawns exclusively in the western Pacific. Four subspecies of masou salmon are presently recognized, masu salmon (O. masou masou), amago salmon (O. masou ishikawae), Biwa salmon (O. masou subsp.), and Formosa landlocked salmon (O. masou formosanus). Formosa landlocked salmon only occurs in one location in Taiwan and is therefore considered to be the southernmost Pacific salmon. Its limited range (since the 1990s, it inhabits only the Chichiawan Stream within the Shei-Pa National Park), genetic discreteness, and its low and fluctuating population numbers suggests that it may be the most endangered salmon in the world. The international symposium on Formosa landlocked salmon and masu salmon, held in Taiwan in October 2009, brought together scientists focusing on all subspecies of masu salmon to update knowledge and apply it to the conservation of Formosa salmon. This was the third symposium to focus on Formosa salmon (previous ones held in 1990 and 2000), but the first to include masu salmon biologists from Japan. The goal was to present updates on recent research which could shed light on future policies concerning conservation of Formosa salmon. The meeting was organized and hosted by Professor J. -C. Gwo (National Taiwan Ocean University) who gave the introductory plenary lecture summarizing what is known about the biology of the subspecies in Taiwan and highlighting his work on genetic and morphological differentiation of Formosa salmon. The first day encompassed two themes, biology of Formosa salmon, and conservation of salmon. The second day included two more themes, biotechnology of salmon, and salmon production and ecology. Each theme was introduced by a plenary speaker followed by contributed presentations for a total of 26 talks and 2 poster presentations. Following Dr. Gwo’s talk, Yang (retired former Taiwan Fishery Institute member) presented a historical overview of research on Formosa salmon in Taiwan. This was followed by presentations outlining an environmental literacy program in Taiwan (Wang, National Taiwan Normal University), a review of alternative reproductive strategies in male masu salmon (Maekawa, Hokkaido University), and a geological perspective on the origin of Formosa salmon (Shieh, National Taiwan Museum). The second theme was introduced by a review of the conservation genetics of exploited and endangered fish species (Gold, Texas A&M) and was followed by three studies using modeling approaches The first provided an overview of the Wuling (the area within Shei-Pa Park) long-term ecological research and modeling (Lin, Academia Sinica), the second study outlined climate change impacts on Formosa salmon habitat (Tung, National Taiwan University), and the third examined population F. Juanes (&) Department of Natural Resources Conservation, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA e-mail: juanes@nrc.umass.edu