The Great Salmon Compromise

The State of Colorado has suffered from a water shortage in recent years; a difficult situation which is easily visible when viewing the quickly shortening length of the Colorado River. Lake Mead, for example, is roughly 130 feet lower than it once was, marked by the stained rock which towers above the current water level. “The river has become a perfect symbol of what happens when we ask too much of a limited resource: it disappears. In fact, the Colorado no longer regularly reaches the sea” (Zielinski, 2010). Legislation was implemented early on to address this issue, though the results were (perhaps not surprisingly) rather unanticipated, regarding

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.

Dams have arguably put the largest strain on the Chinook salmon. In Columbia River Basin of the Pacific Northwest alone, over 55% of historical spawning habitat has been blocked off by dams (Harrison, 2008) Damn also cause rivers to slow down which in turn causes them to become warmer. This makes for a less ideal habitat for the salmon, and more ideal circumstances for the predators of the salmon. The slowing of a river can also be cause for disease( U.S.F.W.S). Also only about 1% of present

When the restoration was first thought of, all that people could think about was the salmon coming back. In the article “River Restoration Project Offers a Sprinkling of Hope,” it states “When the Chinook salmon come back to the San Joaquin River, it will be a miracle,” (Daniel Weintraub). This shows how even though people had doubts

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

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

Lou Gonzales, of Sonora, recently returned from a salmon fishing trip to the Kenai River in Alaska, near Soldotna. Due to low return numbers, the Kenai River had been closed to the taking of king (chinook) salmon for the past few years. Gonzales was amazed at how good the fishing was since the closure. Gonzalez and friends released over 30 kings during the trip, keeping the biggest of the allowable one per day limit, which weighed 48 and 50-pounds. Numerous silver (coho) salmon were also caught. While on the Kenai, the friend with whom he was fishing had a rule - to release kings under 30-pounds. Gonzales has been there on trips in the past, but never saw it quite this good. A few years back, he caught a huge king in the 70-pound class. The

In 1975, Exxon Minerals would make a discovery that would spark controversy and opposition in Northern Wisconsin. This opposition, by those in the area, would surprisingly defeat Exxon’s mine proposal and preserve the way of life for one of the smallest and poorest bands of Native Americans in the United States. This tribe is known as Sokaogon Chippewa of Mole Lake and with the help of those with similar intentions battled for nearly thirty years to defeat Exxon. With the proposal defeated, one thing was certain, the Sokaogon Chippewa would continue to harvest wild rice without fears of it being contaminated. Yet with no mine, the area has suffered from a lack of economic development even to this day. This lack of economic development could

The Bighorn River in Montana, that holds a great significance to the state of Montana, is a current example of the importance of preserving natural resources in the world today. This river provides water for agriculture and generates income through recreational uses. Poor river management led to the river having high flows for many years that cost the agriculture industry millions for flooding damage and posed a threat to the limited trout habitat. The residents and storefronts that run along the Bighorn River have formed a community and petitioned to have the river recognized as a major asset to Montana. Their community is determined their protests and petitions will result in receiving funding for higher-quality river management and guaranteed

For this project, we are researched the salmon trade and how it has evolved over the years. The salmon commodity chain has three main consumers – the United States, Japan, and China. The development of aquaculture has changed our consumption of salmon drastically over the past decades, with Norway leading the aquaculture industry, and Chile fast catching up. Because of differing standards of farming, the quality of cultivated salmon varies; some farms may use chemicals, while others focus on a sustainable farming process focused on longevity of humans, salmon, and the earth. Atlantic salmon used to overflow waters ranging from Quebec to Newfoundland, all the way southwest to Long Island Sound. Come the beginning of the 19th

Researchers believe that the declining salmon populations are mainly the result of the four H’s, harvesting habits, hydropower, habitat loss, and hatchery fish (Ruckelshaus et al., 2002, pp. 679). Harvesting habits refers to the impact overfishing has on the salon populations (Ruckelshaus et al., 2002, pp. 679). Every year, around 385,000 metric tons of Pacific salmon are caught by commercial fisherman and with weak stock conditions, the natural life cycle of these fish cannot keep up (Knapp, 2007). Hydropower refers to the dams that currently block many rivers in the Pacific Northwest that prevent salmon from reaching or returning from their native spawning grounds (Gore and Doerr, 2000, pp. 40-41). This means that salmon cannot breed as

The Klamath River basin has been one the most productive watersheds and lake systems in the world. It houses over one-third of the world’s pintail ducks and dozens of shoebird species. The basin has a plethora of salmon species and some of the largest trout in the world. The basin had four dams that offered hydroelectric power and water to the surrounding areas. This area was used to its full potential and had experienced serious distress to the biodiversity and damage to the aquatic ecosystem. In 2002, the river saw a die-off of over 33,000 adult salmon which really brought attention to the issue.

By 2008, that figure had jumped to 5 billion. Because of the huge presence of hatchery salmon in wild, the result is when hatchery-bred fish return as adults and interbreed with wild salmon, they produce offspring that are less hardy than their purely wild counterparts. Arguably the existence of hatcheries is directly responsible for offsetting the salmon species composition of the entire North Pacific. Economically, while fisheries immediately can be seen as generating a huge profit, extended dependence and exploitation of fisheries can be incredibly distressing. In an effort to maximize the yield of salmon, hatcheries are failing to see the ocean is an exhaustible resource. The North Pacific Ocean is, at an alarming rate, nearing the limit of its salmon-carrying capacity. (Peterson, 2008) Because hatchery salmon are both outcompeting wild populations of salmon and simultaneously causing genetic dilution by mating with wild populations, the fish that are being caught by fisherman, at an alarming rate, are far less in quality than their wild counterparts. The reason why? Wild populations often possess resistance to the parasites and diseases of their native streams that are not found in the foreign hatchery salmon. In addition, the “decreasing quality” of salmon also negatively influences recreational activities such as sport fishing, a valuable component of both the Alaskan economy and the economies of the pacific north-west. Millions

There was once a Salish boy who lived in a village in the Northwest Pacific Coast. Everybody did something to help the others living in the village. This boy felt like he had no purpose because he couldn’t help the village in any way. He was a tall, lanky boy who couldn’t carry a bag of tools or row a canoe. His name was Chaske but the people referred to him as Sam or Sammy. Sammy didn’t talk to any of the other boys or girls in the village because they were always helping the village alongside their parents. Sammy always took walks in the nearby forests. He would walk on his own and look at the tree and the wildlife to see what he could find.

The salmon migration, commonly referred to as the “Salmon Run,” is a natural occurrence that happens only once a year. Oncorhynchus, also known as Pacific Salmon, are the most common type of salmon on the planet. Pacific Salmon are better known under the following five species groups: Sockeye, Pink, Coho, Chum, and Chinook. Salmon are known for their amazing flavor and tender meat which is commonly found in most fish markets around the United States. What people do not realize, is the amazing journey that these fish take every year to reproduce in order to spawn a new generation of salmon. Jumping upstream, fighting off predators, and traveling over one thousand miles, these salmon travel back into the mainland streams where they themselves were born in order to produce their own spawn. This makes the salmon run the greatest migration of any animal on the planet.