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Pacific Salmon Face Uncertain Tides

Oceanic changes doomed '08 crop, but scientists can't agree on what caused them

By Kristina Loew, Newser User

Posted Jan 7, 2009 6:43 PM CST

(Newser) – West Coast fisheries has seen a 90% drop in salmon spawn since 2004, and while many blame rivers degraded by dams and diversions, some experts believe the problem has been pushed out to sea, reports Salon. Wind direction and water temperature have changed, bringing less food to the ocean’s surface for fish to feed on; whether climate change is to blame remains unclear.

“When the ocean is in cold phase, salmon do really well, and when it’s in warm phase, salmon do horribly,” says one expert, who says the natural process of flipping warmer water for colder has “gotten all goofy.” While some argue climate is “starting to affect lots of food webs in a lot of different ways,” fish seem to be returning this year. “The ocean is full of life,” says one fisherman.

[Images (4)]

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Pink salmon are unloaded from the hold of a salmon seiner in Petersburg, southeast Alaska, Thursday August 7, 2008. Pink salmon are finally starting to show up in southeast Alaskan waters. (AP Photo/Klas Stolpe)

Chinook and other salmon didn't get enough food from the ocean in 2004-05, meaning so few returned to spawn that the US government stopped salmon fishing in 2008. (AP Photo)

The Sacramento River is seen below Shasta Dam near Redding, Calif., Friday, Feb. 22, 2008. California's dams could infuse cold water into rivers and stave off warm water that is fatal to fish. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Federal fisheries managers banned chinook salmon fishing off the California coast last year due to dangerously low stocks. (AP Photo)

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Things are getting more and more variable, which is one of the predictions of global warming—that the systems are going to get less predictable. - Bill Sydeman, chief scientist at the Farallon Institute

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Pacific Salmon Face Uncertain Tides