short answer: Because for the past several decades that is where the vast majority of science has been taking place and we (scientists) have not seen a significant drop in juvenile salmon entering salt water. With new technology we are finding that, at least in the Strait of Georgia, the vast majority of juvenile mortality is occurring in the marine environment. It make sense to spend more effort studying the timing/locations where salmon are actually dying so that we can then figure out ways to mitigate this. It could well be that their freshwater experience (lakes, rivers, etc) are a factor in their saltwater demise and this is all being considered in the SSMSP.
Put it this way:
- Each year there's a marathon and 10,000 runners are at the start line
- For the past 3 decades only 100 runners have been making it to the finish line, while the remaining 9,900 have gone missing.
- For decades we've only been able to track the heath / status of runners for the first mile of the race as that's all technology could afford us. What happens after mile 1 and through mile 26 has been a mystery.
- Finally, new technology is showing us that over the past few years 5,000 runners per year have been dropping dead between mile 1.5 and mile 2 each year
Wouldn't it make sense to focus our science on this unique and short time frame where mortality is so high? Given the limited resources available I think this is the best route to take.
Awesome.
