Location: Pacific Northwest

Endangered Salmon

Lewis and Clark noted that salmon were so thick "you could walk across their back" to cross a stream. Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest built a thriving culture centered upon these bountiful fish. In the new millennium, however, a new picture is emerging. Over 200 runs (a particular species returning to a particular river/lake during a specific time of year) of salmon are "depressed" in number in the Northwest, representing about 50% of the existing population. Over 100 runs are already extinct. In March of 1999, the National Marine Fisheries Service proposed the listing of eight runs of Northwest salmon as either endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Multiple reasons were cited by federal officials for the action, all of which can be summarized under the heading of the "Four H's": habitat, harvesting, hydropower, and hatcheries.

Habitat is divided into the freshwater the salmon are born in, the estuaries they travel through into the saltwater, and the ocean itself. Degradation of streams and rivers from over a century of clearcutting, roadbuilding, dams, and urban sprawl has reduced optimum spawning and rearing habitat to a small percentage of their original coverage in the Northwest. With critical freshwater habitat destroyed both at the beginning of the anadromous cycle for salmon- the eggs, alevin (hatched eggs), and parr (fingerling)-and at the end, for the returning spawners, many runs of salmon have not been able to survive. Ocean pollution and natural oceanic changes such as El Nino's have also contributed to the demise of salmon.

Harvesting pressures can be divided into natural, sport, commercial, and tribal categories. In some locations, the natural predators such as abundant sea lions may be the focus, whereas other places in the Northwest may be spotlighting overharvest due to years of heavy commercial fishing. In reality, a combination of all fishing efforts has contributed to the significant decline of species.

Hydropower-dams-has been a mainstay of the irrigation and electrical generation story for the Northwest since the 1930s. Although most facilities were built with fish passages, all dams have presented an obvious obstacle to migration, particularly for the smolts-the stage that moves down river to the sea. On the Columbia/Snake River system, several dozen major dams have played a significant role in reducing salmon runs to a small percentage of their original numbers. The dams benefited farmers and provided for the cheapest electricity in the country, but the result has been devastating for salmon.

The final "H"-hatcheries-has only relatively recently been added to the discussion. During the 1990s, fisheries experts considered the impact of a century of hatchery programs on wild salmon runs. Studies indicate that hatchery fish may impact wild fish by: (1) a combination of transfer of diseases from the hatchery fish to wild fish; (2) by competition for food between wild and hatchery salmon once they are released into the river; and (3) by the overharvest of wild fish in a "co-mingled" commercial fishery when fishers catch both types of fish during fishing operations. While the production of hatchery fish has increased over the years, the population of wild salmon has declined. Many implicate the hatcheries as a contributor.

The recovery of wild Northwest salmon will not be quick or cheap, but will depend upon a concerted and broad effort. Curtailment of fishing effort, fishing focused upon hatchery stocks as opposed to wild fish, logging/urban sprawl restrictions, dam alterations or removal, and changes in hatcheries all will be important considerations. The steps taken will be painful for many, but the rewards of a comprehensive recovery effort may mean saving a premier icon of the Pacific Northwest culture.

Key Principles

1. Endangered species
2. Water pollution
3. Overfishing

Ethical Considerations

1. Who is responsible for the demise of salmon?
2. What steps should be taken in a recovery plan?
3. Who should pay for the recovery plan?

Author

Mark Plunkett
Science Division
Bellevue Community College
Bellevue, WA 98007
mplunket@bcc.ctc.edu