CBC News is reporting there could be a potentially catastrophic collapse of the sockeye salmon run on the Columbia River system this year.
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A summer of unusual heat in the Pacific Northwest is threatening to kill at least a quarter million sockeye salmon swimming up the Columbia River to spawn.
Through July 27, 368 sockeye were counted at Lower Granite Dam 30 miles downstream from Lewiston.
In fact, record numbers of sockeye salmon have been passing through the dam since 2012. Projections show that only 18,000 sockeye will return this year. When sockeye live in waters that range from the mid 50’s into the 60s, Ahrens says the salmon get stressed very easily, as less oxygen is held in warmer waters, making it harder for them to breathe.
Another plan in action right now is an emergency permit that is allowing state hatchery managers to capture sockeye whenever water is above 70 degrees and take them to recuperate in cooler waters.
“According to Idaho Fish and Game, the first Sockeye Salmon reached the Sawtooth Basin on Monday”. Higher temperatures also kick their metabolisms into overdrive, burning through stores of energy that are crucial to their survival.
Once a team of scientists studying the species stated that nearly 100,000 sockeye would return to their spawning grounds in the rivers and streams in British Columbia’s South Okanagan region. “Fish are showing signs of physical stress, So there are open wounds and fungi and other things”.
“There’s no doubt on the part of our climatologists that say that these are the kinds of conditions that we will see in the future,” Scott told ThinkProgress.
Efforts are underway to save one of Idaho’s most endangered species.
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To help aid in their conservation, Oregon and Washington officials have both agreed to place a ban on commercial and recreational fishing indefinitely.
