The Tyee – Sockeye Feel the Heat
What Hinch worries about most when it comes to salmon are two horsemen of the environmental apocalypse: warming temperatures and pathogens.Sept 2010: Record Fraser River Sockeye Salmon Run
The Fraser River is close to 2 C warmer than it was just 50 years ago for cold-blooded salmon, that's a problem.
... Referred to as "salmon leukemia," it is potentially the culprit behind falling salmon numbers over two decades, culminating with the 2009 collapse when only a million fish came back out of an expected 10 million.
This year, after several seasons of extensive fishery closures due to record low numbers, the Fraser River in southern British Columbia is experiencing a huge sockeye salmon return unlike any other since 1913. The International Pacific Salmon Commission is now estimating a total run of 34,546,000 fish! Compare that to last year's dismal run of barely over 1,000,000 fish and you'll get an idea of how amazing these numbers are. It seems they keep increasing the number every few days as more and more fish come back.
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1 comment:
This suggests a phase-locked periodicity similar to that in certain cicada species here in the US. The 17-year cicada has a strict periodicity of 17 years, and the populations that emerge in different years to not cross breed - the immature cicadas are unable to breed, and the adults have a life span of weeks.
Perhaps there are distinct populations of salmon, some of which are more abundant than others.
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