The Effects Of Salmon Farming On The Salmon Population Essay

Salmon have a truly incredible life cycle. Like all fish, salmon spawn from female eggs and then go on to develop into “alevin,” which is a term for newly hatched fish. First off, they derive nourishment from the yolk sac from where the salmon are born. Once the sac has been absorbed, the “fry,” or baby fish, then emerges from the river gravel and starts the search for food. Fry instinctively deal with the river currents and learn to swim together as a school right away. Anywhere from a couple days to two years old, fry will continue to live in fresh water until they start the next, “smolting,” phase. Smolting is a

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 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.

Kaeriyama et al. studied the effects of climate events on Pacific salmon species in the offshore waters of the central Gulf of Alaska during the early summers of 1994-2000. They based their study on analyses of stomach contents, and carbon and nitrogen isotope concentrations. In all species except Chum Salmon, Gonatid squid was the dominant prey. During

Salmon hatcheries have been operated for a variety of purposes throughout their its history in this region, from harvest augmentation, to mitigation of habitat destruction, to conservation and preservation of native populations. Despite this long history, we are only just beginning to understand how hatchery-raised fish interact with and effect wild populations of salmon. Research shows that captive-bread salmon impact wild salmon in a variety of ways, from competing with them directly for resources, to reducing the fitness of wild populations through interbreeding between wild fish and less-fit hatchery fish. These findings have serious implications for the hatchery industry, and as the focus of hatchery operation switches from augmentation

There are many risks associated with eating farm-raised salmon versus wild- caught salmon. One risk that farm raised salmon faces is contaminants that can lead to cancer. Farm raised salmon are placed in artificially made bodies of water such as ponds, lakes, and salt water and within these bodies of water, contaminants such as PCBs can be present. Cancer causing chemicals can be present in both the water, farm-raised salmon swims in, and the food they eat. Another risk with farm-raised salmon is the use of antibiotics in order to keep the fish healthy. This unknown amount of antibiotics used on the fish can lead to a resistance to the antibiotic used to kill the bacteria’s in both human and the salmon. The humans that are consuming the fish that possess these antibiotics are unintentionally

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

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

Scientists are coming to terms with the ways that the species they study are being impacted by climate change every day, and playing the part of both researcher and conservationist to ensure the longevity of their research. Colin Brauner of The University of British Columbia comments on the impact the change in water could have on the lives of the fish, “We found that freshwater acidification affects pink salmon and may impact their ability to survive and ultimately return to their freshwater spawning grounds. (http://news.ubc.ca/2015/06/29/freshwater-and-ocean-acidification-stunts-growth-of-developing-pink-salmon/)” If the salmon are unable to return to the place they spawn, they may be hesitant to spawn at all, or spaw n in a place that is vulnerable to attack from predators. Salmon are a part of the freshwater ecosystem which faces unknown peril if CO2 emissions are not reduced, and acidification levels in the water continue to

If you are like most people, you are picturing a perfect environment where fish swim together in clear water being fed pellets by a local fish farmer in waders. This is a lie. The reality is that up to 2 million salmon are packed into tiny cages where the stressed fish desperately try to find some relief by jumping out of the water (Mercola, 2016). What is worse is that up to a quarter of the fish in any given salmon farm

Over the past 25 years, Atlantic salmon has become one of the endangered species among the red list. The problem first occurred at Penobscot river. Initially, 75% of the whole country’s Atlantic salmon population lived there, but now, less than 5% remain. The main reason that leads to the rapid decline of Atlantic salmon to the state of extinction is due to overfishing which begins from 1950. As the decline in salmon population became evident, farming of salmon began in 1980 and fishing stopped in 1990. Furthermore, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) decided to step in and rectify this problem when they realized the seriousness of this issue. They spent 7.3 million into American Recovery and reinvestment Act (ARRA) to rebuild

During the last two decades Marine farming of Atlantic salmon has become an important food-producing industry. There has been a rapid growth in the development of this industry but simultaneously facing major health issues in fish. Usage of vaccination can controls many of the most important bacterial diseases but viral diseases have been more difficult to control. This is because the Atlantic salmon are more prone to viral diseases at the early stage of their life.(Rimstad, E., & Mjaaland, S. (April 01, 2002).) Infectious salmon anaemia (ISA) is a major disease of Atlantic salmon,caused by an orthomyxovirus (ISAV). Outbreaks of unexplained mortalities attributed to infectious salmon anaemia (ISA) were examined in the 1996 year class of Atlantic

Humans have done many things that effect the salmon population whether they know it or not and also whether it positively or negatively affects the salmon. When European Americans arrived in the North West, this was in the same time period when innovations in canning came about, they began to catch salmon which they thought was an unlimited amount of and canned them. The sellers and the salmon both ended up needing help. The sellers produced so many cans of salmon that it caused an overproduction and no one was in the market to buy that much canned salmon. Hatcheries also started to become popular. Hatcheries was a way for humans to mass produce salmon and humans thought this was a good way to increase the number of salmon in a controlled environment.

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