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November 21, 2008 9:29:28 CST


salmon

salmon news stories

15 Stories

(Newser) - The orca population in Washington’s Puget Sound is dropping, and scientists think a scarce food supply is to blame, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. A poor year for chinook salmon—and another is in the forecast—forced the killer whales to spend energy searching further afield for food. Two mature females (the least likely orcas to die) and five others were lost this year, the biggest yearly decline since the 1990s. More »

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Federal Changes Threaten Endangered Species: Critics

Feds can dodge review under rule changes

(Newser) - Critics are raising an alarm over planned White House changes to the Endangered Species Act, reports the Oregonian . The modifications would give federal agencies such as the US Forest Service more leeway to decide whether activities such as logging would harm endangered species—and such determinations would no longer be scrutinized by outside reviewers. More »

 Alaskan Salmon Sick of Climate Change 

Scientists blame global warming for 'white spot disease'

(Newser) - Alaskan king salmon are getting sick, and experts have named a culprit: global warming. Marine ecologists say that a rise in "white spot disease" is tied to a 3-decade trend of higher temperatures in the Yukon River, the Los Angeles Times reports. With cold-temperature barriers melting, parasites and bacteria are moving north—and threatening Alaska's prized salmon stock. More »

More about:  global warming Alaska disease fish fishing salmon parasite

Opinion

 It's Time to Give Up Salmon 

Populations are decreasing, and farmed specimens aren't healthy

(Newser) - Salmon is supposed to be the perfect indulgence: low in saturated fats, high in omega-3 fatty acids, cheaper than ever at your local supermarket. But Taras Grescoe thinks you should stop eating it anyway. Wild salmon populations are dying off, he writes in the New York Times , thanks mostly to man-made habitat problems and overfishing. And the farmed salmon that's taken over grocery store shelves is not the healthy alternative it appears to be. More »

More about:  environment fish pesticide salmon omega-3 fatty acids

Fishermen Shoot Sea Lions
in Battle Over Salmon

Feds suspend trapping as they investigate killings

(Newser) - Six  federally protected sea lions were shot to death along the Columbia River in Washington yesterday as they lay in traps set to move them to another region, AP reports. Three elephant seals were killed the previous day in California. All were apparently the victims of a battle between fishermen and the animals that feed on endangered salmon. Officials had planned to move up to 85 seals a year out of the Washington area, but have now suspended trapping as they investigate. More »

More about:  fish salmon U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service elephant seals

 Alarmed Feds Cancel
 Salmon Season 

Shocking plunge in numbers a mystery

(Newser) - In drastic action to stop the collapse of the West Coast salmon population, a federal fisheries council is banning salmon fishing off California and most of Oregon for the rest of the year, reports the San Francisco Chronicle . "This is a disaster," said the council chairman. The number of salmon spawning in California's Sacramento River system has plunged some 94% in six years. More »

More about:  California fish Oregon salmon fishing ban Pacific Fishery Management Council

 Pacific Salmon Season in Peril 

Incredibly low stocks prompt action from federal agency

(Newser) - A shortage of salmon in the waters along the Pacific coast has driven regulators to consider a ban on salmon-fishing this season, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The Pacific Fishery Management Council has never recommended canceling the season before, and about 1,000 commercial fishermen could see their livelihood devastated by a final decision, due in April. More »

Price of Gold: Alaska's Salmon

Fear region's resource will be devastated

(Newser) - The world's largest sockeye salmon fishery, located in the Bristol Bay area of Alaska, is threatened with destruction by a proposed gold mine, which could become the biggest in North America. The planned Pebble Mine has polarized the state; mining companies, on the one hand, and environmentalists and commercial fishing interests, on the other, are waging fierce lobbying campaigns, the Washington Post reports. More »

More about:  Alaska fish salmon sockeye salmon

Fish Farming
Wiping Out
Wild Salmon

Sea lice could doom some species to extinction, study says

(Newser) - Fish farming could drive some species of wild salmon to extinction, a new study says. Canadian researchers found a direct connection between the growth of such farms in British Columbia and a sharp drop in wild salmon nearby, the Washington Post reports. They attribute the problem to deadly sea lice that thrives in the farms, then spreads to wild salmon that swim by the netted cage.  More »

More about:  farming fish salmon British Columbia seafood aquaculture

Japan Sends Mixed Signals
on Whale Hunt

It cites tradition but denies tribe's bid
to fish for salmon

(Newser) - Japan has a ready defense for its internationally maligned whale hunt: Whaling is integral to Japanese culture, embedded in the country's traditional diet, literature, and religion. Yet this argument looks questionable in light of the Japanese government's refusal to allow indigenous people to continue their traditional salmon fishing, writes Bruce Wallace in an analysis for the LA Times . More »

More about:  environment Japan fishing whale whaling salmon Japanese whale hunt

Jelly-cide: 100,000 Salmon Killed

Northern Ireland's entire stock destroyed in jellyfish attack

(Newser) - An attack of killer jellyfish has wiped out Northern Ireland’s only salmon farm. More than 100,000 fish died in the seven-hour attack, causing estimated losses of $2.1 million, AFP reports. The 35-foot-deep wave of jellyfish covered 10 square miles. The mauve stinger normally prefers warmer Mediterranean waters and has never been seen off British shores in such numbers. More »

More about:  agriculture fish fishing nature Northern Ireland salmon jellyfish

Salmon Made
to Bear Trout

Success shows sterile animals could
become surrogates
for extinct species

(Newser) - Cue the world’s most peculiar baby announcement: Masu salmon have produced rainbow trout offspring, with an assist from scientists that could lead to the preservation of rare fish species. Trout sperm stem cells had already been injected into salmon embryos to produce salmon with trout sperm; now the same early sperm cells have been used to produce female salmon with trout eggs, Nature reports. More »

More about:  fish salmon sperm eggs breeding trout

10 Gourmet Restaurant Swindles

As eateries cut costs, watch out for cheap shortcuts

(Newser) - As the price of food goes up, what cost-cutting measures at restaurants might end up on your plate? The Independent lists 10 shortcuts, swindles and downright lies you should be wary of. Lookalike fish species Supermarket-bought salads Instant powdered eggs and potatoes More »

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Polluted
Fish Swamp Great Lakes

Industrial chemicals raise contaminant levels into range unsafe for eating

(Newser) - Industrial chemicals contaminate many species of fish that populate the Great Lakes, making them too hazardous for safe human consumption, says a Canadian conservation group. "The lakes continue to be polluted to such an extent that human health is threatened," says a report released yesterday that lists industrial pollutants such as dioxins, PCBs, and methyl mercury among the contaminants. More »

More about:  environment Canada environmentalism pollution fish salmon Great Lakes Lake Superior Lake Ontario PCBs methyl mercury Huron pollutants trout

Vitamin D Slashes
Cancer Rates

New study ties nutrient in milk, tuna, salmon to 60% decrease

(Newser) - The first research linking vitamin D directly to cancer prevention shows the nutrient sharply reduces cancer rates in older women. Only 3% of the 1,179 women monitored while taking a combination of vitamin D and calcium developed cancer over 4 years, a 60% lower rate than those given placebos, according to the breakthrough American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study. More »

More about:  cancer breast cancer doctor study Nebraska salmon Omaha vitamin D tuna vitamins cells fortified milk research articles

15 Stories