OldBlackDog
Well-Known Member
Taken from The Tyee article.
DFO did not respond in time to a request for comment on this story, but the Tyee did connect with Richard Beamish, an emeritus scientist listed on the DFO website as head of salmon interactions, coastal and oceanic ecosystems. Beamish is a Coho specialist, but knows enough about Chinook to say they’ve been in serious decline everywhere, including Russia, which accounts for 10 per cent of the world’s Chinook catch and more than 50 per cent of the overall Northern Pacific salmon catch (Canada accounts for only three per cent overall). In other words, it’s not just the Fraser River and Puget Sound that are seeing Chinook declines, it’s planet-wide. Others have suggested that among salmon species, Chinook may be more susceptible to climate change, and our warming, acidifying oceans. Oddly enough, as Beamish points out, “Pacific salmon in general are probably doing better than they have in recorded history. We are getting record catches of pink salmon in the North Pacific, especially in odd numbered years. [Pink and Chum] are doing quite well, but that’s not what the general public understands.
DFO did not respond in time to a request for comment on this story, but the Tyee did connect with Richard Beamish, an emeritus scientist listed on the DFO website as head of salmon interactions, coastal and oceanic ecosystems. Beamish is a Coho specialist, but knows enough about Chinook to say they’ve been in serious decline everywhere, including Russia, which accounts for 10 per cent of the world’s Chinook catch and more than 50 per cent of the overall Northern Pacific salmon catch (Canada accounts for only three per cent overall). In other words, it’s not just the Fraser River and Puget Sound that are seeing Chinook declines, it’s planet-wide. Others have suggested that among salmon species, Chinook may be more susceptible to climate change, and our warming, acidifying oceans. Oddly enough, as Beamish points out, “Pacific salmon in general are probably doing better than they have in recorded history. We are getting record catches of pink salmon in the North Pacific, especially in odd numbered years. [Pink and Chum] are doing quite well, but that’s not what the general public understands.