Salmon Mystery in the Pacific Northwest!

by Dan Bacher (danielbacher [at] hotmail.com)

Fri, Apr 15, 2005 10:53AM

Scientists are shocked by the low numbers of spring chinook salmon that have returned so far to the Columbia River this season - in a year when they were forecasting a huge run. This lack of fish is very scary - and may be the result of warm water conditions, potentially resulting from global warming, off the West Coast this year. However, nobody really knows exactly what is going on right now.

Salmon mystery in the NorthWest -Blog discussion this morning -
http://cascadiascorecard.typepad.com/blog/2005/04/scarce_salmon_s.html

The annual run of big spring Chinook are nowhere to be found on the Columbia River. Normally, by this time of year, roughly 3,100 king salmon have made their way past Bonneville Dam on the Lower Columbia -- the vanguard of a run that can easily number a quarter milllion.

But his year so far, only 200 have arrived. It's the worst early showing since the Bonneville Dam was constructed in 1938. (The last time it was close was 1952 when only 478 had arrived bynow.) Scientists are unanimous about only one thing: they don't know what's wrong.

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