More than 60,000 salmon died before they could hatch. The die-off of two species, mostly pink and some chum salmon, hints at a potentially devastating season for the fish, local people, and the wider environment. There was a mass fish calamity in the central coast of British Columbia on September 29. Within the Indigenous Heiltsuk Nation Territory there is a waterway. There is a full video showing a view of the carnage.
Adult salmon migrate from the Pacific Ocean to the waterways where they are born. The fish die after laying their eggs, starving other wildlife and the forest on their way out. Allison Dennert, a PhD candidate at Simon Fraser, said that almost all of the fish found in Neekas died before they could reproduce. She told Earther that it was heartbreaking to see how many people hadn't had the chance to have a baby.
Dennert is used to seeing dead fish, but this level of death is something she has never seen before. Dennert and her colleagues smelled the water. The smell was bad when it was in the thick of the dead fish. The researchers had to keep their faces covered. Dennert said it burned their noses and eyes.
There has been a late season heat wave in parts of the Pacific Northwest. There are record low September and October rains. Many waterways are low and some are completely dry. Will Atlas, a salmon scientist at the Wild Salmon Center, said in a phone call with Earther that the die-off in Neekas was likely just one of many. He said that there are a lot of creek that have no water.
The pink salmon population is expected to take at least five to six generations to recover from this fall's die-off, if there isn't another bad year in that time period. He said that pink salmon in the same area lost a lot of money in the past two years. According to data from the Pacific Salmon Foundation, the Central Coast's population has fallen by about 70% over the past two decades.
The fish face a lot of threats. According to Atlas, climate change is the main reason for their decline. Climate change is increasing the intensity of heatwaves in British Columbia, according to previous research. It is becoming more likely that there will be more extreme weather events.
Atlas said that salmon are adapted to manage some level of disruption. These types of events are very unpredictable. As much as they have evolved to deal with it, salmon can't keep up.
Everything else suffers as well as their populations. Atlas said the fish are the foundation of the food web. Bears, wolves, eagles, and other animals take live salmon from streams and spread their scraps around to benefit other animals. The whole system is dependent on the fish and their lifecycle. The creek is inhospitable to other freshwater life due to the fact that most of the oxygen is gone.
Dennert said that the only living fish she and her colleagues found were under a waterfall. There was no place for the salmon to lay their eggs. There could be a complete failure of the river, according to Atlas.
The people are next. One of the most popular fish in the world is salmon. People in the US consume more salmon than any other fish. According to a Research and Markets report, the global salmon industry was worth more than $200 billion in 2011. The fish is central to local culture in British Columbia and other parts of the Pacific Northwest.
William Housty, manager of the Heiltsuk First Nation, said in a phone call that salmon are drivers for everything. Everyone in his community depends on salmon for food and economic opportunities, and he said this year's die-off will have a long-term impact.
According to Housty, the underlying problem is the fact that there was a small amount of rain a couple of weeks ago. The fish rely on the environment to make their movements. The pinks went up the river and ran out of water.
Housty had high expectations for the Neekas system. He knew there was a lot of pink salmon in the water. It is heartbreaking to know that they all died.
Dennert said the same thing. She pointed to the fish that made it. The salmon were the champion because of the threat of fishing and the perilous journey back to where they hatched. They couldn't overcome the barrier.
Housty said that the carcasses may be good for the Dungeness crabs. Everything else is missing out.
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