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Columbia River salmon runs plentiful now, but don’t count on the trend continuing

Posted by: Maven on February 8, 2010 at 6:04 am

From the Oregonian:

“In some Northwest streams, it seems like a return to the storied days when it was said salmon ran so thick you could walk across their backs.

Record numbers of coho have returned to the Columbia River in recent years, and this year forecasters predict the same for spring chinook. But it’s not time to pop the champagne corks and declare victory in the nation’s most expensive wildlife restoration venture.

The reason: Most scientists agree much of the thanks for the recent runs, in addition to improved river conditions and more hatchery fish, goes to favorable circumstances in the ocean where the salmon mature after being born in fresh water.

“It looks like the abundance of adult salmon that we see come back to the rivers appears to be set or at least strongly regulated by their early ocean experience,” said Nate Mantua, a climate scientist and fisheries researcher at the University of Washington.

If the Pacific has been a cornucopia, it can just as easily flip to an environment with all the bounty of a vegan butcher shop. Signs are showing it already has. … “

Read more from the Oregonian by clicking here.

February 8, 2010 · Filed Under Wildlife & Endangered Species

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