Stopping chinook fishing

[tincan]

I assuming you are referring to the SRKW going extinct @OldBlackDog ?

Hypothetically and from a ecology point of view it would be interesting to see what would happen if the remaining 76 SRWK's went extinct. Some think the Northern Residents would fill the void (they already share feeding locations such as Swiftsure). I really have no idea what would happen but given I've had to the experience to interact with these whales my entire life while boating/fishing around the south coast I hope it doesn't get to that. It would be another terrible milestone in humanity if we were to wipe out yet another amazing species. I am hopeful we can have both healthy and sustainable wild salmon and SRWK populations.... it will take a lot of work but they are both worth it IMO.

So, what really would happen if the whales go extinct?

There are other killer whales in the oceans.

Just a question.

 

[OldBlackDog]

Yes the SRWKs.
It appears there are 2500 killer whales of all varieties in the NE Pacific. So we are talking about 3% of this population.

The most recent estimate places the global population of killer whales at a minimum of about 50,000 animals.In the northeastern Pacific (from California to the western Aleutian Islands and Bering Sea), the population is estimated around 2,500 killer whales.

I assuming you are referring to the SRKW going extinct @OldBlackDog ?

Hypothetically and from a ecology point of view it would be interesting to see what would happen if the remaining 76 SRWK's went extinct. Some think the Northern Residents would fill the void (they already share feeding locations such as Swiftsure). I really have no idea what would happen but given I've had to the experience to interact with these whales my entire life while boating/fishing around the south coast I hope it doesn't get to that. It would be another terrible milestone in humanity if we were to wipe out yet another amazing species. I am hopeful we can have both healthy and sustainable wild salmon and SRWK populations.... it will take a lot of work but they are both worth it IMO.

 

[profisher]

Our pacific salmon, especially runs of Chinook are very volunerable to climate change. Late summer or early fall rains are critical for allowing these fish to move up into the spawning beds before they time out. In recent years. there has been very little rainfall well into October. This year is no exeption. There only needs to be a further 2 week delay in these rains and most of these fish will die pre-spawn. Once they are gone, they are gone!

 

[wildmanyeah]

Our pacific salmon, especially runs of Chinook are very volunerable to climate change. Late summer or early fall rains are critical for allowing these fish to move up into the spawning beds before they time out. In recent years. there has been very little rainfall well into October. This year is no exeption. There only needs to be a further 2 week delay in these rains and most of these fish will die pre-spawn. Once they are gone, they are gone!

Can you please link me the scientific evidence that shows Chinook are more vulnerable than other types of salmon to these changes?

 

[OldBlackDog]

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.”

 

[ericl]

Hi wildmanyeah. I have driven over portions on WCVI Chinook streams in late August & seen how dry they are (the Conuma). Too dry for Chinook to navigate. I know that the Conuma Chinook are in the bay waiting for the river to rise at this time. I know that the rains did not come until October. Depending on what unique run they are, Chinook enter rivers January - December.

This is a complex matter & I realize not all are up to the challenge of understanding complex matters.

We humans have caused the extinction of many species. I believe this to be immoral.

 

[SpringFever552]

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.”

So what does this mean to all ff critics?
Does kind of discredit all the propoganda/theories/science that they are pushing...what does one believe?

 

[SpringFever552]

If low rains, drier summers and then big storms are in our future and it could be this easy would it not wise to take those fish waiting in the estuaries and dump much more $$$ into hatcheries and then transplant those fish back into said rivers when ready?

 

[OldBlackDog]

Yes it does!

So what does this mean to all ff critics?
Does kind of discredit all the propoganda/theories/science that they are pushing...what does one believe?