Strikes Against Salmon...
A couple of weeks ago the State of Alaska was
involved in some rather unsavory work as officers from the Department
of Fish and Game enforced a subsistence fishing closure in the Yukon
– Kuskokwim watershed. It was reported that at least 1000 pounds
of fish were seized along with a few dozen nets and --- tickets were
issued. The State denied these reports at first, but fell silent as
pictures and videos began to surface on the Internet. The Anchorage
Daily News even reposted a video of an Alaska ADF&G officer shown
clearly cutting a net while confiscating Salmon from the nets of
local subsistence fishermen. One of the enforcement officers even
makes a comment near the end of the video, “We'll be back.”
<<Official Denials Articles>>
<<Salmon Seizure Links>>
In looking at the current state of the
salmon fisheries in Alaska, one must be sure to understand the
already present conditions. With the fact that Salmon are migratory
fish that travel thousands of miles throughout their lifetime,
assessing environmental risks to future Salmon stocks is quite
encompassing. From the pristine creeks of the Nushagak watershed to
the rocky streams of Southeast, the territories covered by Salmon in
Alaska alone are expansive. Then when bringing into consideration
the rearing and migration grounds of the Pacific Salmon, the area of
concern becomes almost as large as the United States.
Water pollution from runoff,
industrial processes, increased vehicular use of transient and
spawning waterways changes the chemical composition of the water as
does runoff from roadways and such. It is proven fact that
Salmon return to their home-stream by using their olfactory glands to
literally smell their way through the oceans back to a tiny creek
over thousands of miles... To complete their life cycle. What happens
when you change that water's base composition by increasing the
acidity is the Salmon's navigation 'warns' them away from that water.
The cumulative effect of this is decreased returns to areas closest
to the polluted water. In a water system where aquifers are
closely related and intertwine and simply determining which waterways
are affected by any water change can be impossible.
“Alaska contains 63% of the total
wetland acreage in the United States. Over half of the state is
covered by wetlands and salmon are critical to the productivity of
these ecosystems.”
US F&W
<<Olfactory Salmon Article>>
Pollution in the sea and ocean
acidification are becoming increasingly larger threats to fish
stocks. With increased water temperatures and higher levels of
carbon based gases, Arctic fish in particular are losing their
traditional rearing grounds as other species, including humans move
in. The increase in Arctic trans-Ocean sea traffic will also reduce
the ocean space available for generational fish stocks due to
pollutants left behind and disturbances in the sea. The fish will
adapt and returns will decline. A species group will only grow or
sustain to the capability of their environment.
<<Ocean Acidification Explained>>
Click on picture for higher resolution
version...
Last year a huge mass of debris
from Japan washed into the sea and shortly afterwards TEPCO, the
operators of the failed Fukishima Nuclear Plant dumped untold amounts
of sea water that had been used to cool overheating reactor cores
back into the sea. The Japanese government subsequently lied to
everyone about radiation risks. There is still no true government
response to this with any sort of preparatory contaminant monitoring
or plans to contain any if found. Another aspect of consideration in
thinking about the Fukishima disaster is this; who is responsible for
the loss of economic impact if the fisheries do show signs of
radiation contamination?
<<Fukishima Ocean Debris and
Currents Article>>
Global Climate Shifting, as the
weather patterns relocating across the globe. It has been well
proven that the coastal areas of Alaska are changing. From increased
vegetation in tundra areas to flooding along rivers, change is
occurring, no matter what you want to call it. Not long ago,
some scientists did predict that certain areas, in particular the
Arctic regions would experience some extremes. I can attest to the
fact that Alaska has been experiencing some pretty extreme weather.
This winter will go down as one of the harshest in recent history.
But also this Summer has already begun as unusually warm and sunny.
These conditions are not addressable by humans in any other way
than to simply become conscious about consumerism that contributes to
human interference with nature. But, we must be aware of the
causes so that we can do something about the causes that we as humans
can address the decline in fish stocks.
“Poor
returns in 1996-98, however, suggested a return to a level of
productivity similar to the pre-1978 period (Fair 2003). Fish
from the 1996-98 return years reared in the ocean when temperatures
were above average, whereas, cooler than average ocean temperatures
characterized the pre-1978 period.” NOAA Report authored by Doug
Eggers, Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
<<Extreme climate Conditions and
Global Warming correlation article>>
In Alaska, we also have to deal with
commercial dragnet operations that aren't very well regulated. In
fact, these commercial fishing boats were allowed to catch an
unregulated amount of bycatch until just a few years ago.
Bycatch is the “unintended” harvesting of non-targeted species,
for example a pollack trawler catching Chinook Salmon or a Cod
Trawler raking Halibut from the ocean floor. The cumulative effect of
years of dead wasting untold thousands and possibly millions of fish
is a large contributing factor to the decline in fish stock
populations. The entities responsible for most of the by-catch
are actually supposed to be providing sustainable economic
opportunities and solutions to the communities being hurt most by the
harmful trawler fishing. Sort of ironic huh? Recent regulatory
changes have reduced the amount of allowable by-catch, however, even
the industry acknowledges that enforcement oversight is nearly
non-existent or effective. More On This Next Time.
Have a great day folks...
Have a great day folks...