Extinction Of Atlantic Salmon Essay

Factors on the collapse of the West Coast fishery•Overfishing•Changes in the Environment/Global Warming•Different agreements/lack of treatiesOverfishingIn the 90's there was an 800,000 tonnes catch per year for salmon. Instead of being over 100 major fish processing plants in British Colombia, there's fewer than 10.Changes in the Environment/Global WarmingThe Pacific Ocean is increasing in temperature due to Global Warming, which there's a possibility of threatening the salmon's habitat. The preferable temperature for salmon is below 7 degrees, so if the water temperatures keep rising, the salmon will move towards the Bering sea because its cooler. Instead of the spawning occurring in British Colombia, it will be in

For over one hundred years the salmon population in the Columbia Basin has been drastically decreasing, due to overfishing and man made obstacles. The Columbia Basin Fish Accords have given a one billion dollar grant to tribes and states for habitat restoration projects. However, the conflict still rages between the native tribes of the area, and the federal government whose roadblocks such as dams prohibit the free flowing rivers that bring salmon back to the spawning grounds. The effort to keep salmon coming back up the river while keeping the dams intact is the struggle that the federal grant hopes to solve.

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).

The allusive bluefin tuna is one of the largest, fastest and highly sought after fish in the wild sea. The Bluefin tuna can weigh over half a ton, grow to over four metres in length, and dive to depths of 1,000 metres. They can reach speeds of 70 miles an hour and even raise their body temperature far above that of the surrounding water in order to traverse arctic waters. They are among the most ambitiously migratory of all fish, with some tagged bluefin being tracked swimming from North American to European waters several times a year. The bluefin tuna is unique, a perfectly adapted products of evolution. They are also dangerously close to becoming extinct (Brown). Today, the bluefin tuna has been fished out by 97 percent from pre-fishing

Introduction: The Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) in the family Salmonidae and are a char native to Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Montana and western Canada. Compared to other salmonids, bull trout have more specific habitat requirements that appear to influence their distribution and abundance (USFWS, 2015). Bull trout were historically regarded as pests due to their voracious predatory behavior. It was thought that bull trout depleted populations of “more desirable” game fish by feeding on them when they were very small thus supposedly depleting the numbers. In fact at one point there was a bounty placed on bull trout tails in Canada to encourage fisherman to rid the waters of this “Bully,” which effectively eliminated them from certain watersheds (Donald, D. B., and D. J. Alger. 1993). At one time in the early 1900’s the Bull Trout thrived in the waterways of the Northwest. The Upper Snake Recovery Unit for the Bull trout occurs within central Idaho, northern Nevada, and eastern Oregon. Major drainages include: the Salmon River, Malheur River,

A keystone species are one that is essential to the function of the ecosystem as a whole. They are a biological foundation that supports the entire interworking of life. They are the ones that many other animals cannot do without and without them the ecosystem will unravel. Every summer millions of Atlantic salmon return to the coast to fill hundreds of streams and rivers, just as they have for hundreds of years feeding many different species including the local people, those throughout the nation and feeding many local economies. Yet quietly and without proper explanation the number of salmon is beginning to dwindle and is on the edge of distinctions. Few if any are returning to the rivers and those that are, are dying mysteriously before they have a chance to lay their eggs. One thing we do know is that salmon do not have an appropriate habitat for reproducing and the upbringing of the young and it is essential to have one for the continued existence of the species. Without them we will lose a key player in our ecosystem.

In this paper I will examine two diverse articles in an attempt to understand species-specific response to change. The first article focuses on species change from a broader point of view, looking at feeding ecology and trophic dynamics in a variety of Pacific salmon species. The second article presents a more in-depth analysis, researching the thermal tolerance of Sockeye Salmon specifically.

Salmon are both an indicator and keystone species to the survival of ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest. A healthy salmon species implies healthy waterways with little pollution, and an abundance of native plants and animals, as well as thriving estuaries that effectively filter pollutants. Salmon are a vital food source for predators, and carry key nutrients to plants surrounding the rivers and lakes where they spawn. Along with environmental stability, a healthy salmon population contributes to a multi-million dollar industry of thousands of workers along the Pacific

The influence of the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulfstream in Southwest Florida Waters make the temperature just right for literally hundreds of different kinds of fish. In 2011, “Florida’s recreational anglers caught roughly 121 million marine fish, 74 million of which were released.” These statistics support the notion that fishing may be one of the most loved hobbies. Since fishing efforts have been drastically increasing over the years, dozens of species are threatened with extinction and many more are experiencing serious population declines. In order to ensure that a fish’s populations will remain sustainable for future generations, anglers need regulations that will sustain the existence of a fish population.

Prompt 2: Through the Summer Undergraduate Research Program, Pomona provides students up to $4,000 to conduct research with a Pomona professor on any topic in the arts and humanities, social sciences, or natural sciences. Imagine you received one of these grants. What would you research and why is this topic important to you? How would you know if you had been successful in your research?

In The salmon fished in British Columbia generally migrate from the ocean and into nearby watersheds to spawn. While in the ocean, salmon depend on a diet of small fish, such as krill and herring. However with the risk of biodiversity depletion, many of these species may disappear, affecting fish populations globally and British Columbia’s salmon population. If our local salmon populations were to decrease, the long term effects would greatly disturb the killer whale and bear populations that depend on the fish, the indigenous people, the fishing business, and overall

According to the State of Salmon Website which is Washington state government website solely about the salmon species in Washington, the needs for habitat restoration are: “Shoreline Armoring, Water Quality, Stormwater Runoff, Permit-Exempt Wells, Impervious Surfaces, Loss of Forest Cover Fish, Passage Barriers, Development in Floodplains and Estuaries.” The endangered salmon species in the state of Washington include the Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha,) Chum (Oncorhynchus keta,) Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss,) Sockeye (Oncorhynchus nerka,) and the Bullhead trout (Salvelinus confluentus.) One such attempt at saving these species before extinction is being made by allowing consumers to speak up about the importance of this topic by giving them the opportunity to choose to buy the products with the label “Salmon

Salmon famed is all do to the omega-3 fatty acid it content. Four ounces of this fish contain at least 2 grams of omega-3 fatty acid, which is more than the average U.S. adult gets from all food over the course of several days. There are two forms of omega -3 fat in salmon: DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (docosahexaenoic acid). Salmon is also rich in vitamin D and selenium.

When fish like salmon are farmed, often the fish are still kept in the ocean; however, they live inside of nets so that they are still contained. There are many ethical arguments based around these net systems because these nets pose threats to wild salmon. Captive salmon can escape from the nets, which allows them to breed with wild salmon. This can disrupt the natural gene pool of wild salmon. Farmed salmon have been shown to outgrow wild salmon when introduced into the wild, and typically have higher mortality rates, which would be poor traits to be introduced into the wild gene pool, (Hindar, et al., 2006). Unfortunately, with the invasive farmed salmon being introduced to wild populations from escapees of net systems, the recovery of the original wild salmon is unlikely, even if decades went by without more intrusive farmed salmon being present, (Hindar, et al., 2006). Another problem is that the nets do not contain wastes from the captive salmon inside, wastes such as uneaten feed, and feces from the fish are dispersed into the open waters of the ocean. Wild salmon can contract infections and parasites from captive farmed salmon in nets. A study indicated that these parasites, such as sea lice, and infections lead to high mortality rates in wild salmon passing near

According to the United Nations, 17% of fish stocks worldwide are currently overexploited; 52% are fully exploited; and 7% are depleted. This means that only an estimated 20% of worldwide fish stocks are not already at or above their capacity(Seafarms, 2013). Catches of Pacific herring have decreased by 71% since the 1960s, with Atlantic herring catches falling by 63%. Atlantic Cod catches have fallen by 69% in the same time(Seafarms, 2013). These are just a few of many facts and statistics on the topic of overfishing. The effects of these statistics and facts impact people’s and animal's lives around the