Essay On Chinook Salmon

In the research performed by Morgan Hocking, Nicholas Dulvy, John Reynolds, Richard Ring, and Thomas Reimchen, as described in their article ‘Salmon subsidize an escape from a size spectrum’, several interesting discoveries were made. The main purpose of their research was to determine how the energy generated from salmon carcasses could affect the size spectra of terrestrial communities. Based off of the fact that salmon are a keystone species, Hocking et al. were able to create three hypotheses. The first of these hypotheses was that ‘the temperate forest soil communities would be size structured,’ meaning that the structure of the ecosystem in this temperate rainforest is dependent on the size of the organisms living within it (Hocking et al., 2013). The second hypothesis states that ‘nutrients from the salmon that enter the bottom of the food web would increase abundance across all size classes… and that these increases in abundance

The first Pacific salmon hatchery was constructed on the McCloud river in California in 1872, and its purpose was to produce Chinook salmon eggs that would be distributed far and wide, starting a practice of introducing non-native fish for human enjoyment and consumption that has proven very destructive, both to populations of salmon and other fish species (Maynard and Trial 2013). During this time the main goal of hatcheries was to produce as many salmon as possible, regardless of the carrying-capacity of the effected stream, a practice that was largely motivated by the canning industries who benefitted significantly from increased salmon production. During this period, the natural environments that shaped the development of each salmon run were not only seen as unimportant, but actually detrimental to salmon-production (Maynard and Trial 2013). Current research makes it clear that these factors, which early hatchery managers saw as detrimental, are in fact key to healthy salmon

From the San Francisco Bay to streams and rivers of Oregon, salmon populations have been steadily decreasing over the past two decades but more rapidly within recent years. In general, fish populations in the Pacific Northwest region have always fluctuated, but the overall trend continues on a downward slope to extinction. While natural phenomena such as flooding and predators of the food chain do affect salmon populations, human activity poses the greatest threat by far. The four main reasons of salmon plummeting are as followed: Harvest, Hatcheries, Hydropower, and Habitat. It’s clear that water ecosystems and management of human activity threaten salmon as a whole. Whether it’s a bay, river or stream- whatever body of water that contains salmon should be subject to ethics that guide our actions as a part of achieving a better overall environment.

The Merced River is the southernmost watercourse of the California Central Valley presently inhabited by Chinook salmon whose abundance has decreased by 75% since 1950 (Yoshiyama et al., 2000). From its headwaters located in Yosemite National Park, Sierra Nevada, the Merced River flows west to join the San Joaquín River (river km 190) and drains a watershed approximately 3,297 km2 in size. Meanwhile, the elevation declines from 3,048 m to about 18.3 m. Only the first 82 river km are reachable by anadromous fish with access terminating at Crocker-Huffman Dam. We estimated the percent contribution of terrestrial organic carbon sources for juvenile Chinook salmon across four longitudinally-positioned sites: Merced River

The average period of time that sockeye salmon live in the wild is 4 to 5 years. The oldest salmon that was caught was 8 years of age. Usually sockeye salmon die after mating (“Longevity, aging and life history of Oncorhynchus nerka”, 2009; Groot, 1966)One thing about sockeye salmon that is special and unique about them is that they swim in runs when migrating to freshwater streams to spawn. They additionally establish gregarious hierarchies, conventionally at times of reproduction. The most astronomically immense male is most ascendant (Crutchfield and Pontecorvo, 1969; Quinn, 2005). The predators of sockeye salmon are considered to be bears, lake trout, squawfish, mountain whitefish, and birds such as mew gull. Humans additionally consume a considerable about sockeye salmon.

In the North Pacific there are five species of salmon. Each kind of salmon is known by different names like, Chinook (king), sockeye (red), coho (silver), chum (dog), and pink (humpback). These are all valuable, but the Chinook or King Salmon were the prize of the Columbia River system. In the late 1800s about 2,500,000 cans of salmon nearly filled a cannery store and storage rooms in Astoria, Oregon. Fresh, salted, dried, and smoked were the only options for preserving and eating salmon before the spread of canning technology in the mid 1800s.

Anadromous salmonids, which travel between freshwater and saltwater, is an example of how habitat loss can change evolutionary patterns. Dams constructed for hydroelectric power generation are blocking the access for these fishes, but culverts and river engineering have also reduced the amount of habitat that anadromous fishes can use (Furniss et al. 1991; NRC 1996). These results suggest that loss of habitat will alter evolutionary patterns in salmonid populations.

An endangered species is a species of either plant or animal that is in serious risk of becoming extinct. This name became connected with the Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in 1994 after being petitioned to be put on the list for nine years (NOAA). There are two main reasons behind the endangerment of the Chinook salmon: over exploration, and dams. Since the times of the Native Americans, Chinook salmon have been highly sought after as a food source. Since then the salmon have experienced great amounts of overfishing. Along with water demands which has resulted in overuse of water and diversion of water had affected spawning sites and loss of habitat putting further strain on their habitats (National Wildlife Federation).

With the influx of human population immigrating to Pacific Northwest Region of the United States at the end of the 19th century, extracting the natural goods of the environment quickly became an issue of sustainability and preservation. In the State of Washington Ninth Annual Report of the State Fish Commissioner of 1898, author A.C. Little illustrates how the extractive actions along many of Washington’s river systems are resulting in a major depletion of salmon species unique to the Northwest. Little’s Report aimed to bring attention to over consumption of this finite resource that was not only intrinsically valuable to many people within the region but was also a very successful economic engine too value to deplete. The booming fishing industry,

The King Salmon or Chinook Salmon is the state fish of Alaska and is the biggest salmon in the world.Since it is the largest salmon in the world people call it the “king” salmon. King Salmon have a blueish-green back with silvery sides and a white belly and black spots on the back and tail.The King Salmon or the Chinook Salmon can grow up to 2-5 feet long and 40 pounds. The King Salmon has a short lifespan which is usually 3-7 years. King Salmon are anadromous, which means they spawn one in their life and die.

Commercial fishing boats are pushing to catch as many Atlantic salmon as they can after a net pen broke near Washington's Cypress Island. Fishermen reported thousands of the non-native fish jumping in the water or washing ashore. The pen, in the state's northwestern San Juan Islands, contained about 305,000 Atlantic salmon. Environmentalists are concerned that the escaped Atlantic salmon could potentially mate and crossbreed with the Pacific salmon or compete with them for food but they are not completely sure what the ramifications will be. Now, owner Cooke Aquaculture and the Washington department of fish and wildlife are trying to determine how many escaped. The director of the wild fish conservancy northwest, Kurt Beardslee , called the

Juvenile Pacific Salmon and other migratory marine animals are travel many long distance under water to use resources in different oceanic regions. The main question is how these marine animals travel many long distance and able to locate Specific Ocean feeding areas without previous experience. Researchers experimentally demonstrate that the juvenile chinook salmon respond to magnetic field which lead them toward their marine feeding grounds. The “magnetic map” of Juvenile salmon to be inherited. These results, Similar with findings in the sea turtles indicate that the magnetic maps are genetically wide spread and show their navigational abilities evident in many long distance under water

For my community engagement I choose to volunteer at the SPCA here is Salmon Arm. I am still continuing to volunteer and hope to for the rest of the two years I am in Salmon Arm. It has been a really awesome experience, and I have learnt a lot from spending time there. So many animals are mistreat, seen as disposable, and forgotten which lands them in the shelter. Most of these animals are so sweet and just want some love but their families no longer want them. There are so many sick people in this world that treat innocent animals with such cruelty; it is honestly one of the most heart breaking things I have seen. It makes me think about all the horrible things that happen daily in this world, either to animals or people. That has pushed me

Prior NPRB projects have laid an important foundation outlining the effects climate change on Pink salmon in Alaska. A previous study has detailed the influence that biological, environmental and genetic factors had on the timing of Pink salmon migration (PI: Tallmon, project 1110), allowing us to support these data by testing, in a laboratory setting, the relative influence of specific climate change-related stressors on developmental rate, affecting out migration timing. Understanding environmental factors that influence overall performance of a species is critical to determining the susceptibility of that species to shifting habitat conditions. The proposed research will fill a gap of understanding regarding Pink salmon’s specific sensitivity

The United States and Canada formed the Pacific Salmon Commission (PSC) and in 2012 the United States, contributed $ 95,000.00 to this endeavor. While it does not specify the percentage of the U.S. budget the U.S. is involved in quite a few other aquic areas. Another, Salmon related budgeting set aside is with the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Commission (NASCC). The percentage is 5% to the toon of $45859.00 laid out in 2012. Both cases of these commissions are to conserve the production of the species. While, the PSC pact between the U.S. and Canada insures an equal opportunity for both countries investments in the harvesting, the NASCC consist on a broader rage with multiple countries. The PSC does not itself regulate the salmon fisheries they do give advisement and recommendations to both