By: Dan

Dan — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:43:02 +0000

Nice post.
However, 16 million returning salmon is conservative. NOAA Fisheries has cited studies in a couple of biological opinions that estimate as many as 30 million returning salmon per year. See, for instance, the Southern Resident Killer Whale Recovery Plan: “Perhaps the single greatest change in food availability for resident killer whales since the late 1800s has been the decline of salmon in the Columbia River basin. Estimates of predevelopment run size vary from 10-16 million fish (Table 7; Northwest Power Planning Council 1986) and 7- 30 million fish (Williams et al. 1999), with Chinook salmon being the predominant species present. Since 1938, annual runs have totaled just 750,000 to 3.2 million fish (WDFW and ODFW 2002). Returns during the 1990s averaged only 1.1 million salmon, representing a decline of 90 percent or more from historical levels. With so many fish once present, salmon returning to the Columbia River mouth may have been an important part of the diet of Southern Resident whales.” (Those killer whales are, of course, endangered now, largely (not entirely) because of prey shortages.)

By: Camela

Camela — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:48:56 +0000

The author’s “returning salmon” estimate of 10,000 probably refers to wild salmon that made it all the way from the ocean to the Snake River and lower Columbia tributaries. This should be distinguished from the roughly 2 million adult salmon (mostly hatchery-born fish) that passed through Bonneville Dam this year, according to YTD data from the reliable Fish Passage Center. (Of course, that doesn’t include additional returning salmon that were caught before reaching Bonneville.)
http://www.fpc.org/currentdaily/HistFishTwo_7day-ytd_Adults.htm

Comments on: Will Proposed Biop Plan Restore Salmon and the Economy? A Portland Court Must Decide

By: Dan

By: Camela