http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...peratures-pose-threat-to-b-c-salmon-1.3151406
Record warm ocean temperatures pose threat to B.C. salmon
Record warm ocean temperatures pose threat to B.C. salmon
'Warm blob' of water in Pacific Ocean could hurt salmon
- Thread starter agentaqua
- Start date
TheRock
Active Member
Tropical Fish - Cowichan Bay !
Came across this tonight thought I post it here..
"A Pacific Pompano (Peprilus simillimus) caught in Cowichan Bay, on 17 June 2015. This species is a visitor to BC only in years with very warm water. Photo courtesy of Oline Luinenberg."
Came across this tonight thought I post it here..
"A Pacific Pompano (Peprilus simillimus) caught in Cowichan Bay, on 17 June 2015. This species is a visitor to BC only in years with very warm water. Photo courtesy of Oline Luinenberg."
Attachments
SpringVelocity
Crew Member
Uh oh you got that in Cow Bay....PM Game Changer about it... I know DFO is monitoring weird fish and conditions. You know I almost want to laser cut a piece of stainless that shape and make a test spoon out of it... We have numerous encounters with them in JDF...
http://nwifc.org/2015/06/what-tribal-hatcheries-are-doing-to-save-salmon-from-the-drought/
What Tribal Hatcheries Are Doing to Save Salmon from the Drought
What Tribal Hatcheries Are Doing to Save Salmon from the Drought
Clint r
Well-Known Member
Copied from castanets news service:
Toxic algae raises concern
Photo: The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
NOAA researchers inspect a sample of sea water containing a brownish toxic algae.
The Canadian Press - Aug 4 7:48 pm
A vast bloom of toxic algae off the West Coast is denser, more widespread and deeper than scientists feared even weeks ago, according to surveyors aboard a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research vessel.
This coastal ribbon of microscopic algae, up to 40 miles wide and 650 feet deep in places, is flourishing amid unusually warm Pacific Ocean temperatures. It now stretches from at least California to Alaska and has shut down lucrative fisheries. Shellfish managers on Tuesday doubled the area off Washington's coast that is closed to Dungeness crab fishing, after finding elevated levels of marine toxins in tested crab meat.
So-called "red tides" are cyclical and have happened many times before, but ocean researchers say this one is much larger and persisting much longer, with higher levels of neurotoxins bringing severe consequences for the Pacific seafood industry, coastal tourism and marine ecosystems.
Dan Ayres, coastal shellfish manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, said the area now closed to crab fishing includes more than half the state's 157-mile-long coast, and likely will bring a premature end to this year's crab season.
"We think it's just sitting and lingering out there," said Anthony Odell, a University of Washington research analyst who is part of a NOAA-led team surveying the harmful algae bloom, which was first detected in May. "It's farther offshore, but it's still there."
The survey data should provide a clearer picture of what is causing the bloom which is brownish in colour, unlike the blue and green algae found in polluted freshwater lakes. Marine detectives already have a suspect: a large patch of water running as much as three degrees Celcius warmer than normal in the northeast Pacific Ocean, nicknamed "the blob."
"The question on everyone's mind is whether this is related to global climate change. The simple answer is that it could be, but at this point it's hard to separate the variations in these cycles," said Donald Boesch, professor of marine science at the University of Maryland who is not involved in the survey. "Maybe the cycles are more extreme in the changing climate."
"There's no question that we're seeing more algal blooms more often, in more places, when they do occur, they're lasting longer and often over greater geographical areas. We're seeing more events than documented decades ago," said Pat Glibert, professor at Horn Point Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.
Odell recently completed the first leg of the survey, mostly in California waters. On Wednesday, researchers plan to continue monitoring the sea between Newport, Oregon, and Seattle. The vessel will then go to Vancouver Island, wrapping up in early September. Another research ship is taking samples off Alaska.
The brownish bloom was particularly thick off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, and Odell said it was unusually dominated by one type of algae called Pseudo-nitzschia, which can produce the neurotoxin domoic acid.
"It's an indication of an imbalance," said Vera Trainer, a research oceanographer with the Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle. "Too much of any one thing is not healthy for anybody to eat."
Trainer said this bloom is the worst she's seen in 20 years of studying them. Harmful algal blooms have usually been limited to one area of the ocean or another, and have disappeared after a few weeks. This one has grown for months, waxing and waning but never going away.
"It's been incredibly thick, almost all the same organism. Looks like a layer of hay," said Raphael Kudela, a professor of ocean sciences at University of California, Santa Cruz.
The current bloom also involves some of the highest concentrations of domoic acid yet observed in Monterey Bay and other areas of the West Coast.
"It's really working its way into the food web and we're definitely seeing the impacts of that," Kudela said, noting that sea lions are getting sick and pelicans are being exposed. And now that the Pacific is experiencing its periodic ocean warming known as El Nino, it may come back even stronger next year, he said.
Domoic acid is harmful to people, fish and marine life. It accumulates in anchovies, sardines and other small fish as well as shellfish that eat the algae. Marine mammals and fish-eating birds in turn can get sick from eating the contaminated fish. In people, it can trigger amnesic shellfish poisoning, which can cause permanent loss of short-term memory in severe cases.
State health officials stress that seafood bought in stores is still safe to eat because it is regularly tested. While there have been no reports of human illnesses linked to this year's bloom, authorities aren't taking chances in fisheries with dangerous toxin levels.
California public health officials have warned against eating recreationally harvested mussels and claims, or any anchovy, sardines or crabs caught in waters off Monterey, Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara counties. Other shellfish harvests are shut down along Oregon's coast.
The most recent samples showed the highest-ever recorded concentrations of domoic acid in the internal organs of Dungeness crab, Ayres said.
"This is really unprecedented territory for us," said Ayres.
Toxic algae raises concern
Photo: The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
NOAA researchers inspect a sample of sea water containing a brownish toxic algae.
The Canadian Press - Aug 4 7:48 pm
A vast bloom of toxic algae off the West Coast is denser, more widespread and deeper than scientists feared even weeks ago, according to surveyors aboard a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research vessel.
This coastal ribbon of microscopic algae, up to 40 miles wide and 650 feet deep in places, is flourishing amid unusually warm Pacific Ocean temperatures. It now stretches from at least California to Alaska and has shut down lucrative fisheries. Shellfish managers on Tuesday doubled the area off Washington's coast that is closed to Dungeness crab fishing, after finding elevated levels of marine toxins in tested crab meat.
So-called "red tides" are cyclical and have happened many times before, but ocean researchers say this one is much larger and persisting much longer, with higher levels of neurotoxins bringing severe consequences for the Pacific seafood industry, coastal tourism and marine ecosystems.
Dan Ayres, coastal shellfish manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, said the area now closed to crab fishing includes more than half the state's 157-mile-long coast, and likely will bring a premature end to this year's crab season.
"We think it's just sitting and lingering out there," said Anthony Odell, a University of Washington research analyst who is part of a NOAA-led team surveying the harmful algae bloom, which was first detected in May. "It's farther offshore, but it's still there."
The survey data should provide a clearer picture of what is causing the bloom which is brownish in colour, unlike the blue and green algae found in polluted freshwater lakes. Marine detectives already have a suspect: a large patch of water running as much as three degrees Celcius warmer than normal in the northeast Pacific Ocean, nicknamed "the blob."
"The question on everyone's mind is whether this is related to global climate change. The simple answer is that it could be, but at this point it's hard to separate the variations in these cycles," said Donald Boesch, professor of marine science at the University of Maryland who is not involved in the survey. "Maybe the cycles are more extreme in the changing climate."
"There's no question that we're seeing more algal blooms more often, in more places, when they do occur, they're lasting longer and often over greater geographical areas. We're seeing more events than documented decades ago," said Pat Glibert, professor at Horn Point Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.
Odell recently completed the first leg of the survey, mostly in California waters. On Wednesday, researchers plan to continue monitoring the sea between Newport, Oregon, and Seattle. The vessel will then go to Vancouver Island, wrapping up in early September. Another research ship is taking samples off Alaska.
The brownish bloom was particularly thick off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, and Odell said it was unusually dominated by one type of algae called Pseudo-nitzschia, which can produce the neurotoxin domoic acid.
"It's an indication of an imbalance," said Vera Trainer, a research oceanographer with the Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle. "Too much of any one thing is not healthy for anybody to eat."
Trainer said this bloom is the worst she's seen in 20 years of studying them. Harmful algal blooms have usually been limited to one area of the ocean or another, and have disappeared after a few weeks. This one has grown for months, waxing and waning but never going away.
"It's been incredibly thick, almost all the same organism. Looks like a layer of hay," said Raphael Kudela, a professor of ocean sciences at University of California, Santa Cruz.
The current bloom also involves some of the highest concentrations of domoic acid yet observed in Monterey Bay and other areas of the West Coast.
"It's really working its way into the food web and we're definitely seeing the impacts of that," Kudela said, noting that sea lions are getting sick and pelicans are being exposed. And now that the Pacific is experiencing its periodic ocean warming known as El Nino, it may come back even stronger next year, he said.
Domoic acid is harmful to people, fish and marine life. It accumulates in anchovies, sardines and other small fish as well as shellfish that eat the algae. Marine mammals and fish-eating birds in turn can get sick from eating the contaminated fish. In people, it can trigger amnesic shellfish poisoning, which can cause permanent loss of short-term memory in severe cases.
State health officials stress that seafood bought in stores is still safe to eat because it is regularly tested. While there have been no reports of human illnesses linked to this year's bloom, authorities aren't taking chances in fisheries with dangerous toxin levels.
California public health officials have warned against eating recreationally harvested mussels and claims, or any anchovy, sardines or crabs caught in waters off Monterey, Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara counties. Other shellfish harvests are shut down along Oregon's coast.
The most recent samples showed the highest-ever recorded concentrations of domoic acid in the internal organs of Dungeness crab, Ayres said.
"This is really unprecedented territory for us," said Ayres.
OldBlackDog
Well-Known Member
The Province.
A colossal algae bloom extending from California to Alaska is causing plenty of fisheries problems in the U.S., but B.C. waters have so far remained open to fishing except for two short closures.
The bloom — which happens from time to time in B.C., especially in summer — can trigger the release of domoic acid, which can cause problems up and down the food chain.
“The intensity of this bloom (in terms of toxicity and therefore impacts to the ecosystem) is greater in the U.S. than in Canadian waters,” said Lara Sloan, communications adviser with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO).
“The U.S. is monitoring toxin levels in its waters and has imposed fisheries and aquaculture site closures along its coast.
“DFO noted two small areas with slightly elevated levels of domoic acid and implemented closures that have since been lifted.
“DFO continues to monitor, but has not seen the levels reported in the U.S.”
The summer of 2015 — dry and hot — has produced optimum algae conditions, with warmer water and a phenomenon known as “the blob,” a giant area of superheated water that is affecting both water temperature and has extended the range of species usually seen only farther south in the Pacific.
“The bloom contains algae species which produce domoic acid.” said Sloan. “Domoic acid can accumulate in shellfish and cause human health concerns.”
“This bloom occurred earlier than normal and has lasted longer than normal (from late May into August). It has also occurred over a much larger spatial extent than usual (from California to Alaska).”
While coastal U.S. states have closed some fisheries because of the threat, Sloan said seafood in B.C. is safe to eat.
“DFO conducts ongoing studies into the biology of algae blooms, and shares this information with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), which leads toxicity monitoring around shellfish and aquaculture sites. Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency continue to monitor ocean conditions off the west coast of B.C. to verify the health of the aquatic ecosystem.”
Domoic acid can be harmful to people, fish and marine life.
It accumulates in small fish as well as shellfish that eat the algae. Marine mammals and fish-eating birds can become sick from eating the contaminated fish.
Extreme cases can trigger amnesic shellfish poisoning in humans, which can cause permanent loss of short-term memory.
A colossal algae bloom extending from California to Alaska is causing plenty of fisheries problems in the U.S., but B.C. waters have so far remained open to fishing except for two short closures.
The bloom — which happens from time to time in B.C., especially in summer — can trigger the release of domoic acid, which can cause problems up and down the food chain.
“The intensity of this bloom (in terms of toxicity and therefore impacts to the ecosystem) is greater in the U.S. than in Canadian waters,” said Lara Sloan, communications adviser with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO).
“The U.S. is monitoring toxin levels in its waters and has imposed fisheries and aquaculture site closures along its coast.
“DFO noted two small areas with slightly elevated levels of domoic acid and implemented closures that have since been lifted.
“DFO continues to monitor, but has not seen the levels reported in the U.S.”
The summer of 2015 — dry and hot — has produced optimum algae conditions, with warmer water and a phenomenon known as “the blob,” a giant area of superheated water that is affecting both water temperature and has extended the range of species usually seen only farther south in the Pacific.
“The bloom contains algae species which produce domoic acid.” said Sloan. “Domoic acid can accumulate in shellfish and cause human health concerns.”
“This bloom occurred earlier than normal and has lasted longer than normal (from late May into August). It has also occurred over a much larger spatial extent than usual (from California to Alaska).”
While coastal U.S. states have closed some fisheries because of the threat, Sloan said seafood in B.C. is safe to eat.
“DFO conducts ongoing studies into the biology of algae blooms, and shares this information with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), which leads toxicity monitoring around shellfish and aquaculture sites. Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency continue to monitor ocean conditions off the west coast of B.C. to verify the health of the aquatic ecosystem.”
Domoic acid can be harmful to people, fish and marine life.
It accumulates in small fish as well as shellfish that eat the algae. Marine mammals and fish-eating birds can become sick from eating the contaminated fish.
Extreme cases can trigger amnesic shellfish poisoning in humans, which can cause permanent loss of short-term memory.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...b-brings-tropical-fish-to-b-c-coast-1.3206735
Ocean blob brings tropical fish to B.C. coast
Butterfish, tope sharks, ocean sunfish, finescale triggerfish, even a louvar have been seen in B.C. waters
CBC News Posted: Aug 28, 2015 6:19 AM PT| Last Updated: Aug 28, 2015 7:56 AM PT
Several finescale triggerfish have been seen feeding in B.C. waters this summer. (royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/)
Related Stories
¡öDeep sea robots livestream ocean floor landscapes, creatures
¡ö'Biggest El Nino of our generation' may be tempered by The Blob
¡öEl Nino will be a hurricane slayer, forecasters predict
¡ö"The Blob" wreaking havoc in the Pacific
¡öOcean 'blob' of warm water bringing poor food for B.C. wild salmon
¡öOcean 'blob' could be responsible for warmer temperatures
Something unusual is happening off the coast of British Columbia. Fish species normally found in the warm waters of the tropics are finding their way north ¡ª and a blob is being blamed.
Ian Perry, a research scientist with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans based on Vancouver Island, says butterfish, tope sharks, ocean sunfish, even a finescale triggerfish have all been spotted further north than usual.
"The triggerfish... seemed quite happy, feeding away...Perhaps the most unusual was a louvar, which is related to the surgeonfish. It feeds on jellyfish and swims in the open water. We've never seen those in B.C. before."
Perry says it's not uncommon for some of these fish to find their way northward every five to 10 years, whenever there's an El Nino, a massive patch of warm water that appears in the Equatorial Pacific every few years.
It affects weather patterns across the world. Typically, its appearance means more rain on the Pacific coast and a milder winter east of the Rockies.
But this year, the El Nino has yet to arrive.
Riding The Blob to B.C.
Instead, Perry says, a different drifting patch of warm water off the coast of North America ¡ª known more commonly as The Blob ¡ª might be to blame.
¡öOcean 'blob' could be responsible for warmer temperatures
The anomaly was first detected in 2013 by University of Washington climate scientist Nicholas Bond, who gave it the nickname "blob."
Louvar fish Luvaris imperialis
The Louvar fish, which has been seen for the first time in B.C. waters this year, can grow up to two metres long. (royalbcmuseum.bc.ca)
Since the fall of that year, scientists have been tracking a large mass of water in the Pacific Ocean that is 1,000 kilometres long and at least 2 C warmer than usual.
The blob now stretches from Mexico to Alaska and scientists say heat is being trapped within it, making it feel like home for fish used to warmer climes.
"With that comes a number of species that live within the water column," says Perry. "So they tend to go with the currents and they go wherever they're comfortable."
Perry says an El Nino event is expected in the fall, which should keep the tropical visitors around for a while longer, but they'll probably disappear when winter arrives.
"These fish don't really know where they are ... As long as the currents take them north, and the temperature is warm enough and there's food to eat, they're quite happy to live and to grow."
Ocean blob brings tropical fish to B.C. coast
Butterfish, tope sharks, ocean sunfish, finescale triggerfish, even a louvar have been seen in B.C. waters
CBC News Posted: Aug 28, 2015 6:19 AM PT| Last Updated: Aug 28, 2015 7:56 AM PT
Several finescale triggerfish have been seen feeding in B.C. waters this summer. (royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/)
Related Stories
¡öDeep sea robots livestream ocean floor landscapes, creatures
¡ö'Biggest El Nino of our generation' may be tempered by The Blob
¡öEl Nino will be a hurricane slayer, forecasters predict
¡ö"The Blob" wreaking havoc in the Pacific
¡öOcean 'blob' of warm water bringing poor food for B.C. wild salmon
¡öOcean 'blob' could be responsible for warmer temperatures
Something unusual is happening off the coast of British Columbia. Fish species normally found in the warm waters of the tropics are finding their way north ¡ª and a blob is being blamed.
Ian Perry, a research scientist with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans based on Vancouver Island, says butterfish, tope sharks, ocean sunfish, even a finescale triggerfish have all been spotted further north than usual.
"The triggerfish... seemed quite happy, feeding away...Perhaps the most unusual was a louvar, which is related to the surgeonfish. It feeds on jellyfish and swims in the open water. We've never seen those in B.C. before."
Perry says it's not uncommon for some of these fish to find their way northward every five to 10 years, whenever there's an El Nino, a massive patch of warm water that appears in the Equatorial Pacific every few years.
It affects weather patterns across the world. Typically, its appearance means more rain on the Pacific coast and a milder winter east of the Rockies.
But this year, the El Nino has yet to arrive.
Riding The Blob to B.C.
Instead, Perry says, a different drifting patch of warm water off the coast of North America ¡ª known more commonly as The Blob ¡ª might be to blame.
¡öOcean 'blob' could be responsible for warmer temperatures
The anomaly was first detected in 2013 by University of Washington climate scientist Nicholas Bond, who gave it the nickname "blob."
Louvar fish Luvaris imperialis
The Louvar fish, which has been seen for the first time in B.C. waters this year, can grow up to two metres long. (royalbcmuseum.bc.ca)
Since the fall of that year, scientists have been tracking a large mass of water in the Pacific Ocean that is 1,000 kilometres long and at least 2 C warmer than usual.
The blob now stretches from Mexico to Alaska and scientists say heat is being trapped within it, making it feel like home for fish used to warmer climes.
"With that comes a number of species that live within the water column," says Perry. "So they tend to go with the currents and they go wherever they're comfortable."
Perry says an El Nino event is expected in the fall, which should keep the tropical visitors around for a while longer, but they'll probably disappear when winter arrives.
"These fish don't really know where they are ... As long as the currents take them north, and the temperature is warm enough and there's food to eat, they're quite happy to live and to grow."
Attachments
GLG
Well-Known Member
I was on the water yesterday and the temps were 65 F or 18.3 C on the surface, not good for this time of year. Plants and animals are going to take a hit this year again that's for sure.
Here is a link to what the good folks south of me are doing and why the temp is important.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/x5bqsehc26xff6q/PSF-Full report 2013-4_NCES.pdf?oref=e
Here is a link to what the good folks south of me are doing and why the temp is important.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/x5bqsehc26xff6q/PSF-Full report 2013-4_NCES.pdf?oref=e
Fisheries in a Changing Climate
http://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/podcasts/2015/08/climate_change.html
http://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/podcasts/2015/08/climate_change.html
" Man made "Global Warming” is matter of religious belief and has nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with Science"; agreed, given the definition of religious belief as 'deception as a means of perception manipulation as a means of control of resources'.
PDO, AMO, AO are intentionally ignored in climate reporting:
Former NOAA Meteorologist Says Employees “Were Cautioned Not To Talk About Natural Cycles”
Gross Suppression Of Science …Former NOAA Meteorologist Says Employees “Were Cautioned Not To Talk About Natural Cycles”
By P Gosselin on 26. August 2015
http://notrickszone.com/2015/08/26/...lk-about-natural-cycles/#sthash.gT1jbzDN.dpuf http://notrickszone.com/2015/08/26/...lk-about-natural-cycles/#sthash.gT1jbzDN.dpbs
PDO, AMO, AO are intentionally ignored in climate reporting:
Former NOAA Meteorologist Says Employees “Were Cautioned Not To Talk About Natural Cycles”
Gross Suppression Of Science …Former NOAA Meteorologist Says Employees “Were Cautioned Not To Talk About Natural Cycles”
By P Gosselin on 26. August 2015
http://notrickszone.com/2015/08/26/...lk-about-natural-cycles/#sthash.gT1jbzDN.dpuf http://notrickszone.com/2015/08/26/...lk-about-natural-cycles/#sthash.gT1jbzDN.dpbs
GLG
Well-Known Member
Welcome to the forum phrog. Since your new I'll fill you in on this thread. This thread is not about man-made climate change. That debate is over..... This thread is about the blob, the warm water we are seeing and perhaps the coming El Nino. The thread touches on the changing climate that we as anglers are seeing out there now. The effect that we see with the salmon and the general ocean condition of the plants and animals. No one denies that things are getting warmer and we have set aside the reason if it is man-made or natural. That's a debate that Admin has asked us not to have on his website. His sandbox, his rules. The reason behind that is we just end up with one of us posting some theory from an obscure website and another posting something from mainstream science. We both get no where and no one changes their mind and we end up calling each other names. That's not helpful and it could lead to a banning of one of us.
At any rate thanks for the links and the new theory that it's the moon that is causing the warming. Hint for you, don't pay the 50 dollars for his climate forecast as we already know that El Nino is on the way. Would not want you to get tricked from that zone.....
http://www.sciencealert.com/three-c...ve-just-hit-in-pacific-ocean-at-the-same-time
Three Category 4 hurricanes have just hit the Pacific Ocean at the same time
Three Category 4 hurricanes have just hit the Pacific Ocean at the same time
http://www.chinookobserver.com/co/local-news/20150908/salmon-nightmare-ahead
Salmon ‘nightmare’ ahead?
Published: September 8, 2015 2:58PM
Natalie St. John/Chinook Observer
Visitors to the jetty inside Cape Disappointment park started their week off right with some early morning fishing on Tuesday. Recreational fishing has been intensely active on the Long Beach Peninsula’s ocean waters in recent days, with nearly three dozen boats counted off Beards Hollow alone at about 10 a.m. Monday. But with unusual warming underway, fisheries biologists are becoming concerned about salmon returns over the next several years.
It's too early to say for certain, but this year's warm weather could have a big impact on future salmon runs as well as the animals that rely on the fish for food.
By Katie Wilson
kwilson@chinookobserver.com
PACIFIC OCEAN — Oregon and Washington will experience two big El Nino-like events in combination this year, scientists and fishery managers say. This has never happened before and the events could have major impacts on commercial and recreational fisheries — and ocean species from salmon to orcas — for years to come.
One of these events is a true El Nino — a big one — and brings with it the likelihood of less precipitation and warmer temperatures in the Pacific Northwest.
The other event, the “Blob,” is a warm expanse of water that has persisted off the West Coast for over a year and only resembles El Nino. It is an anomaly, a mystery. Formed by a completely different set of circumstances, it has brought about similar results as an El Nino: scientists believe it could be one reason why Washington has experienced such unusually mild weather since the spring of 2014. It has certainly warmed the water off the West Coast, driving various ocean species farther north in search of cold water and drawing tropical species to the area.
So there is what everyone knows: The ocean is unusually warm right now and has been for the last two years. When El Nino arrives in full force, the ocean will likely continue to be warm. And warm water is never good for salmon.
Then there are the questions no one can answer yet.
Oregon and Washington are already beginning to see the effects of this big El Nino cycle, though the event itself has yet to arrive in full here in the North Pacific. When the Blob and El Nino meet — as scientists believe they will — what will happen?
And, after this year’s drought, record-breaking heat, massive toxic algal blooms off the West Coast and no snowpack in the mountains, what will life in the ocean look like next year?
Bill Peterson, an oceanographer with NOAA Fisheries, has a guess: “It’s going to be a nightmare, is what I suspect we’re going to see. … It’s kind of beyond our experience and all we can say is it’s not going to be good.”
Delicate chains
Heat up the ocean and many West Coast species begin struggling almost immediately.
Coho salmon, for example, have been “acting strange” this year, said Doug Milward, ocean salmon fishery manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. He and others believe the fish are staying out in deeper water, waiting until the very last minute to enter Washington’s river systems where they will spawn. They are waiting for cooler water.
Sockeye, among the first salmon to run from the ocean to rivers and streams, were in trouble early on this season.
In July, more than a quarter million sockeye, approximately half of the 500,000 sockeye expected to return from the ocean, were dead or dying in the Columbia River and its tributaries due to warm water temperatures.
Meanwhile, salmon that were ocean-bound this spring and the ones that will head out next spring will face unknown conditions when they return several years later, but biologists say they are going into conditions that do not favor their survival; warm temperatures mean the salmon’s regular food sources may not be thriving either. The fish leaving next spring, reared in these conditions, may be even worse off. As for fish laid as tiny eggs in stream and river beds this year — no one knows.
Young salmon were certainly in trouble this summer, though. The warm temperatures led to outbreaks of bacterial diseases in hatcheries, killing off hundreds of thousands of young fish in Washington, Oregon and California.
Trouble for orcas?
Beyond salmon, biologists worry what this all could mean for the ocean species that rely on these fish for food.
Orcas often visit the communities near the Columbia River, but this year it seemed like people were spotting them constantly — NOAA wildlife biologist Brad Hanson says the number of sightings are probably not much higher than any other year; people are just paying more attention.
But, he added, salmon are an important part of an orca’s diet, likely one big reason why orcas flock to the region.
“With this year, with the drought occurring coastwide, it certainly is going to have an impact down the road. If not in the next couple of years, certainly in three or four years,” said Hanson, who was the chief scientist for a NOAA killer whale research cruise this spring. “... We are going to enter a period here in the not too distant future where we’re going to have reduced [salmon] run sizes. So the question is: How will the whales respond?”
Orcas must eat continuously. They can’t starve for extended periods of times the way other ocean mammals like gray whales can, living off fat reserves.
Orcas eat many kinds of fish, so Hanson and other biologists believe the large mammals could travel elsewhere for food. As the salmon change where and when they travel, the orcas might follow.
Still, Hanson added, if orcas are eating fish other than salmon, as the data suggests, how abundant is this other prey?
“It’s going to be critical for us to monitor that as best we can in the coming years,” he said.
Inland troubles
In the meantime, salmon fishing has been strong this summer. The Buoy 10 sport fishery near the mouth of the Columbia River ended with record catch rates, surpassing last year’s total catch within the opening weeks. Commercial fishing on the ocean has been brisk and conditions near shore have been normal, or as normal as the ocean, a shifting, swirling black box, ever is.
“When I look at this, I don’t see the warning signs I saw in the 90s,” Milward said.
In the early 90s, it was quickly becoming obvious that they were fishing on a very small pool of fish and that there were issues in the wide world beyond: climate shifts and damaged freshwater habitat.
“It’s been a wonderful fishing year in the ocean where I manage,” Milward said.
But it’s in the areas beyond his management where he begins to worry.
From a human point of view, communities in Oregon and Washington had a beautiful spring and summer, the best long-time locals can remember.
For many, though, the summer’s beauty was marred by massive wildfires and drought. And with no snow-pack to fuel streams and rivers in Washington and little rain, streams and rivers are running at an all time low. In June, the Washington Department of Ecology reported that the state’s snowpack was at zero percent of normal. Though there was still snow at higher elevations and in the glaciers, rivers and streams did not receive the boost they’d normally get from melting snow high in the mountains.
State and tribal fishery managers went into the summer worried about the effects of low-flow conditions on salmon-bearing streams and rivers in the Columbia Basin, conditions that can hamper fish passage and lead to high water temperatures (adding another stress on fish already stressed from their migration inland from the ocean). High temperatures and low flow can lead to less oxygen and put salmon more at risk of bacterial or fungal infection.
“I mean, those fish in the ocean now have no idea that we had no snow pack in the winter and no rain in the summer,” Milward said. The salmon are headed towards areas where “their native stream looks more like a creek than river.”
Red light, green light
Each year, Peterson and other NOAA scientists gather information that informs how fisheries will be run in the next season. They look at over a dozen different indicators of ocean and fish health. They look at what’s in the water, and they note what’s missing. For each indicator, they put a red light or a green light next to it. Just like with traffic signals, green light means go. In the 1998 El Nino, all the indicators were red: Stop! In 2008, everything was green. In years where there’s a mix of red and green, it means, Peterson said, “basically we don’t know what’s going on [in the ocean].”
This year, he and state and federal fishery managers are ready for everything to come back red.
“I’m guessing redder than anything we’ve seen before,” Peterson said.
But the ocean is vast, he added, and scientists’ predications have been wrong before. “This could be an environmental disaster, or a blip on the screen that we forget in a couple of years.”
This year, sockeye — the salmon that had half of its total run wiped out by warm water when returning to the Columbia River and its tributaries — found other places to spawn. They ran up streams they’d never used before, streams where the water was still cold, where their young might survive.
To Peterson, salmon are a metaphor for resiliency.
“If you think about what they’ve put up with for the last 50 years and we still have them,” he said. “... They will find a way.”
© 2015 Chinook Observer
Salmon ‘nightmare’ ahead?
Published: September 8, 2015 2:58PM
Natalie St. John/Chinook Observer
Visitors to the jetty inside Cape Disappointment park started their week off right with some early morning fishing on Tuesday. Recreational fishing has been intensely active on the Long Beach Peninsula’s ocean waters in recent days, with nearly three dozen boats counted off Beards Hollow alone at about 10 a.m. Monday. But with unusual warming underway, fisheries biologists are becoming concerned about salmon returns over the next several years.
It's too early to say for certain, but this year's warm weather could have a big impact on future salmon runs as well as the animals that rely on the fish for food.
By Katie Wilson
kwilson@chinookobserver.com
PACIFIC OCEAN — Oregon and Washington will experience two big El Nino-like events in combination this year, scientists and fishery managers say. This has never happened before and the events could have major impacts on commercial and recreational fisheries — and ocean species from salmon to orcas — for years to come.
One of these events is a true El Nino — a big one — and brings with it the likelihood of less precipitation and warmer temperatures in the Pacific Northwest.
The other event, the “Blob,” is a warm expanse of water that has persisted off the West Coast for over a year and only resembles El Nino. It is an anomaly, a mystery. Formed by a completely different set of circumstances, it has brought about similar results as an El Nino: scientists believe it could be one reason why Washington has experienced such unusually mild weather since the spring of 2014. It has certainly warmed the water off the West Coast, driving various ocean species farther north in search of cold water and drawing tropical species to the area.
So there is what everyone knows: The ocean is unusually warm right now and has been for the last two years. When El Nino arrives in full force, the ocean will likely continue to be warm. And warm water is never good for salmon.
Then there are the questions no one can answer yet.
Oregon and Washington are already beginning to see the effects of this big El Nino cycle, though the event itself has yet to arrive in full here in the North Pacific. When the Blob and El Nino meet — as scientists believe they will — what will happen?
And, after this year’s drought, record-breaking heat, massive toxic algal blooms off the West Coast and no snowpack in the mountains, what will life in the ocean look like next year?
Bill Peterson, an oceanographer with NOAA Fisheries, has a guess: “It’s going to be a nightmare, is what I suspect we’re going to see. … It’s kind of beyond our experience and all we can say is it’s not going to be good.”
Delicate chains
Heat up the ocean and many West Coast species begin struggling almost immediately.
Coho salmon, for example, have been “acting strange” this year, said Doug Milward, ocean salmon fishery manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. He and others believe the fish are staying out in deeper water, waiting until the very last minute to enter Washington’s river systems where they will spawn. They are waiting for cooler water.
Sockeye, among the first salmon to run from the ocean to rivers and streams, were in trouble early on this season.
In July, more than a quarter million sockeye, approximately half of the 500,000 sockeye expected to return from the ocean, were dead or dying in the Columbia River and its tributaries due to warm water temperatures.
Meanwhile, salmon that were ocean-bound this spring and the ones that will head out next spring will face unknown conditions when they return several years later, but biologists say they are going into conditions that do not favor their survival; warm temperatures mean the salmon’s regular food sources may not be thriving either. The fish leaving next spring, reared in these conditions, may be even worse off. As for fish laid as tiny eggs in stream and river beds this year — no one knows.
Young salmon were certainly in trouble this summer, though. The warm temperatures led to outbreaks of bacterial diseases in hatcheries, killing off hundreds of thousands of young fish in Washington, Oregon and California.
Trouble for orcas?
Beyond salmon, biologists worry what this all could mean for the ocean species that rely on these fish for food.
Orcas often visit the communities near the Columbia River, but this year it seemed like people were spotting them constantly — NOAA wildlife biologist Brad Hanson says the number of sightings are probably not much higher than any other year; people are just paying more attention.
But, he added, salmon are an important part of an orca’s diet, likely one big reason why orcas flock to the region.
“With this year, with the drought occurring coastwide, it certainly is going to have an impact down the road. If not in the next couple of years, certainly in three or four years,” said Hanson, who was the chief scientist for a NOAA killer whale research cruise this spring. “... We are going to enter a period here in the not too distant future where we’re going to have reduced [salmon] run sizes. So the question is: How will the whales respond?”
Orcas must eat continuously. They can’t starve for extended periods of times the way other ocean mammals like gray whales can, living off fat reserves.
Orcas eat many kinds of fish, so Hanson and other biologists believe the large mammals could travel elsewhere for food. As the salmon change where and when they travel, the orcas might follow.
Still, Hanson added, if orcas are eating fish other than salmon, as the data suggests, how abundant is this other prey?
“It’s going to be critical for us to monitor that as best we can in the coming years,” he said.
Inland troubles
In the meantime, salmon fishing has been strong this summer. The Buoy 10 sport fishery near the mouth of the Columbia River ended with record catch rates, surpassing last year’s total catch within the opening weeks. Commercial fishing on the ocean has been brisk and conditions near shore have been normal, or as normal as the ocean, a shifting, swirling black box, ever is.
“When I look at this, I don’t see the warning signs I saw in the 90s,” Milward said.
In the early 90s, it was quickly becoming obvious that they were fishing on a very small pool of fish and that there were issues in the wide world beyond: climate shifts and damaged freshwater habitat.
“It’s been a wonderful fishing year in the ocean where I manage,” Milward said.
But it’s in the areas beyond his management where he begins to worry.
From a human point of view, communities in Oregon and Washington had a beautiful spring and summer, the best long-time locals can remember.
For many, though, the summer’s beauty was marred by massive wildfires and drought. And with no snow-pack to fuel streams and rivers in Washington and little rain, streams and rivers are running at an all time low. In June, the Washington Department of Ecology reported that the state’s snowpack was at zero percent of normal. Though there was still snow at higher elevations and in the glaciers, rivers and streams did not receive the boost they’d normally get from melting snow high in the mountains.
State and tribal fishery managers went into the summer worried about the effects of low-flow conditions on salmon-bearing streams and rivers in the Columbia Basin, conditions that can hamper fish passage and lead to high water temperatures (adding another stress on fish already stressed from their migration inland from the ocean). High temperatures and low flow can lead to less oxygen and put salmon more at risk of bacterial or fungal infection.
“I mean, those fish in the ocean now have no idea that we had no snow pack in the winter and no rain in the summer,” Milward said. The salmon are headed towards areas where “their native stream looks more like a creek than river.”
Red light, green light
Each year, Peterson and other NOAA scientists gather information that informs how fisheries will be run in the next season. They look at over a dozen different indicators of ocean and fish health. They look at what’s in the water, and they note what’s missing. For each indicator, they put a red light or a green light next to it. Just like with traffic signals, green light means go. In the 1998 El Nino, all the indicators were red: Stop! In 2008, everything was green. In years where there’s a mix of red and green, it means, Peterson said, “basically we don’t know what’s going on [in the ocean].”
This year, he and state and federal fishery managers are ready for everything to come back red.
“I’m guessing redder than anything we’ve seen before,” Peterson said.
But the ocean is vast, he added, and scientists’ predications have been wrong before. “This could be an environmental disaster, or a blip on the screen that we forget in a couple of years.”
This year, sockeye — the salmon that had half of its total run wiped out by warm water when returning to the Columbia River and its tributaries — found other places to spawn. They ran up streams they’d never used before, streams where the water was still cold, where their young might survive.
To Peterson, salmon are a metaphor for resiliency.
“If you think about what they’ve put up with for the last 50 years and we still have them,” he said. “... They will find a way.”
© 2015 Chinook Observer
OldBlackDog
Well-Known Member
[h=1]Two new studies show that global warming is not behind California drought[/h]
According to yesterday's Washington Post, there is a gigantic warm blob in the Pacific Ocean that is fueling California's four-year-long drought, and it has nothing to do with global warming. Two new studies released this week in the journal "Geophysical Research Letters", explain how this large expanse of warm ocean water is affecting California's weather as well as the East Coast's past two brutal winters.
In the first study, Nick Bond, Washington's state climatologist, believes the blob, a.k.a. the "warm anomaly," is behind California's ongoing warm and dry winters. Discovered in the fall of 2013, the warm anomaly is roughly 1,000 miles wide and about 300 feet deep, and according to Bond, is about 3°C (5°F) warmer than is typical for that area of the Pacific ocean. When viewed on a map showing ocean water temperatures, "the great circular mass does indeed look like a blob."
Bond and his researchers believe the anomaly was created when a high-pressure air system got stuck over the circular blob's current location, allowing the ocean water to stay calmer and warmer. This in turn allowed the air above this system to carry heat instead of the typical rain and snow as it worked its way toward land, leading to California's multi-year drought.
"The West Coast’s high temperatures and dire drought, which has led to mandatory water restrictions in California, are likely attributable to this phenomenon," the researchers said. "These new studies also confirm the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) March report, which said "that West Coast waters are becoming less biologically productive as they become warmer. The report attributed the strandings of nearly 1,500 starving sea lion pups, the decline in copepods (tiny crustaceans that support the base of the food chain) and other environmental shifts to the expanding blob." NOAA also put most of the blame on California's drought on natural variables and not climate change.
In the second study, headed by Dennis Hartmann, they found that the "warming waters of the northeast Pacific are tied to an anomaly in water temperatures thousands of miles away, roughly where the International Date Line and the equator intersect in the Tropics." Surface waters in this location are much warmer than normal and are heating the air above them, which eventually reaches the West Coast. Hartmann likens it to "throwing a rock into a pond...the wave eventually makes its way to the other side."
And while the warm waters create a unyielding high pressure system off the West Coast, they cause "cold, wet, low-pressure air in the central and eastern U.S., leading to heavy snowfall and bitterly cold winters." According to the historical record, unusual ocean warming in the Tropics has occurred before, and Hartmann admits, "it could be just another natural variation in ocean and atmosphere temperatures, similar to the El Niño-La Niña cycle."
Harmann declined to say whether the warming of the Tropics is due to global warming, writing, “I don’t think we know the answer. Maybe it will go away quickly and we won’t talk about it anymore, but if it persists for a third year, then we’ll know something really unusual is going on." Bond also said in the same joint release that "although the blob does not seem to be caused by climate change, it has many of the same effects for West Coast weather."
The blob also has all the characteristics of another less-known phenomena termed megaplumes: massive underwater vents that spew out vast amounts of heat, which in turn warm the waters above. According to geologist James Kamis, “An ongoing very large megaplume is responsible for generating a cell of unusually warm seawater that extends across a vast region of the Pacific Ocean, including much of North America’s west coast. This sub-sea volcanically induced giant warmed cell is acting to alter normal California climate patterns and inducing a long term draught.
Even Discover Magazine noted the importance of a megaplume's influence on ocean waters, writing "Megaplumes stir up huge amounts of ocean, carrying minerals and gases and heat almost to the sea’s surface. Vertical mixing doesn’t happen easily in the ocean. Cool, dense water tends to stay near the bottom and warmer buoyant water near the top." David Butterfield, a chemist at the the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle, told Discover Magazine that, "They could be doing things to the energy of the ocean that we don’t even know about."
Scientists first discovered megaplumes in 1986 when they identified a large cell of unusually hot and chemically charged seawater off the coast of Washington state. Baker et al discovered this phenomenon near the Juan de Fuca Ridge, and it was the first cataclysmic hydrothermal vent or megaplume."
NOAA even developed an entire group, the VENTS Program, to research hydrothermal vents. "As research by the VENTS and other groups progressed, even larger megaplumes were identified," writes Kamis. These include "megaplumes discovered in the Indian and Atlantic oceans," which were immense: 44 miles by 20 miles by 5,000 feet tall. "Calculations of total energy released per megaplume were so astounding, researchers concluded, that megaplumes could "'significantly effect ocean dynamics.'"
Kamis found that "scientists were beginning to get a handle on the effect that geological forces have on the ocean, and as a result, the climate. Then it happened: Atmospherically trained climate scientists proposed the theory of man-made global warming. Seemingly overnight, these scientists had waylaid further investigation into the megaplumes’ effect on the climate."
"Credible evidence increasingly supports the theory of plate climatology, which states that geological forces influence El Niños, Arctic sea ice melt patterns, hydrothermal methane and CO2 emission rates, deep-ocean currents, coral reef bleaching, plankton blooms, mega-droughts, and so on."
"The discovery of geologically induced megaplumes played an important historical role in the evolution of climate science." Kamis adds. "To the satisfaction of field geologists, that notion is currently experiencing a resurrection."
According to yesterday's Washington Post, there is a gigantic warm blob in the Pacific Ocean that is fueling California's four-year-long drought, and it has nothing to do with global warming. Two new studies released this week in the journal "Geophysical Research Letters", explain how this large expanse of warm ocean water is affecting California's weather as well as the East Coast's past two brutal winters.
In the first study, Nick Bond, Washington's state climatologist, believes the blob, a.k.a. the "warm anomaly," is behind California's ongoing warm and dry winters. Discovered in the fall of 2013, the warm anomaly is roughly 1,000 miles wide and about 300 feet deep, and according to Bond, is about 3°C (5°F) warmer than is typical for that area of the Pacific ocean. When viewed on a map showing ocean water temperatures, "the great circular mass does indeed look like a blob."
Bond and his researchers believe the anomaly was created when a high-pressure air system got stuck over the circular blob's current location, allowing the ocean water to stay calmer and warmer. This in turn allowed the air above this system to carry heat instead of the typical rain and snow as it worked its way toward land, leading to California's multi-year drought.
"The West Coast’s high temperatures and dire drought, which has led to mandatory water restrictions in California, are likely attributable to this phenomenon," the researchers said. "These new studies also confirm the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) March report, which said "that West Coast waters are becoming less biologically productive as they become warmer. The report attributed the strandings of nearly 1,500 starving sea lion pups, the decline in copepods (tiny crustaceans that support the base of the food chain) and other environmental shifts to the expanding blob." NOAA also put most of the blame on California's drought on natural variables and not climate change.
In the second study, headed by Dennis Hartmann, they found that the "warming waters of the northeast Pacific are tied to an anomaly in water temperatures thousands of miles away, roughly where the International Date Line and the equator intersect in the Tropics." Surface waters in this location are much warmer than normal and are heating the air above them, which eventually reaches the West Coast. Hartmann likens it to "throwing a rock into a pond...the wave eventually makes its way to the other side."
And while the warm waters create a unyielding high pressure system off the West Coast, they cause "cold, wet, low-pressure air in the central and eastern U.S., leading to heavy snowfall and bitterly cold winters." According to the historical record, unusual ocean warming in the Tropics has occurred before, and Hartmann admits, "it could be just another natural variation in ocean and atmosphere temperatures, similar to the El Niño-La Niña cycle."
Harmann declined to say whether the warming of the Tropics is due to global warming, writing, “I don’t think we know the answer. Maybe it will go away quickly and we won’t talk about it anymore, but if it persists for a third year, then we’ll know something really unusual is going on." Bond also said in the same joint release that "although the blob does not seem to be caused by climate change, it has many of the same effects for West Coast weather."
The blob also has all the characteristics of another less-known phenomena termed megaplumes: massive underwater vents that spew out vast amounts of heat, which in turn warm the waters above. According to geologist James Kamis, “An ongoing very large megaplume is responsible for generating a cell of unusually warm seawater that extends across a vast region of the Pacific Ocean, including much of North America’s west coast. This sub-sea volcanically induced giant warmed cell is acting to alter normal California climate patterns and inducing a long term draught.
Even Discover Magazine noted the importance of a megaplume's influence on ocean waters, writing "Megaplumes stir up huge amounts of ocean, carrying minerals and gases and heat almost to the sea’s surface. Vertical mixing doesn’t happen easily in the ocean. Cool, dense water tends to stay near the bottom and warmer buoyant water near the top." David Butterfield, a chemist at the the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle, told Discover Magazine that, "They could be doing things to the energy of the ocean that we don’t even know about."
Scientists first discovered megaplumes in 1986 when they identified a large cell of unusually hot and chemically charged seawater off the coast of Washington state. Baker et al discovered this phenomenon near the Juan de Fuca Ridge, and it was the first cataclysmic hydrothermal vent or megaplume."
NOAA even developed an entire group, the VENTS Program, to research hydrothermal vents. "As research by the VENTS and other groups progressed, even larger megaplumes were identified," writes Kamis. These include "megaplumes discovered in the Indian and Atlantic oceans," which were immense: 44 miles by 20 miles by 5,000 feet tall. "Calculations of total energy released per megaplume were so astounding, researchers concluded, that megaplumes could "'significantly effect ocean dynamics.'"
Kamis found that "scientists were beginning to get a handle on the effect that geological forces have on the ocean, and as a result, the climate. Then it happened: Atmospherically trained climate scientists proposed the theory of man-made global warming. Seemingly overnight, these scientists had waylaid further investigation into the megaplumes’ effect on the climate."
"Credible evidence increasingly supports the theory of plate climatology, which states that geological forces influence El Niños, Arctic sea ice melt patterns, hydrothermal methane and CO2 emission rates, deep-ocean currents, coral reef bleaching, plankton blooms, mega-droughts, and so on."
"The discovery of geologically induced megaplumes played an important historical role in the evolution of climate science." Kamis adds. "To the satisfaction of field geologists, that notion is currently experiencing a resurrection."
GLG
Well-Known Member
Deja vu there OBD... this is the same nonsense story from April that you posted on this thread. It would be best if you just reread the posts starting from #4 till #18. If you have something new, then by all means post it. Till then see my reply on post #5 and then pay special attention to post # 11.
Last edited by a moderator:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/dead-whales-pacific-blob-1.3228268
Dead whales in Pacific could be fault of the Blob
Dead whales in Pacific could be fault of the Blob
Gunsmith
Well-Known Member
Whatever caused this blob whether mankind or nature, the species tend to adapt or lose out. Mankind quite often fails to adapt and we have a disaster.
Much or all of the irrepairable damage has been caused by mankind and his wasteful ways. The years we have treated the oceans as dumps is coming back to haunt us.
Hard to totally repair this overnight but every little good done is a step forward.
Much or all of the irrepairable damage has been caused by mankind and his wasteful ways. The years we have treated the oceans as dumps is coming back to haunt us.
Hard to totally repair this overnight but every little good done is a step forward.
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/article34975239.html
Fraser River pink salmon run a poor haul for U.S. fishermen
"...the Pacific Salmon Commission preseason forecast of 14.4 million. That estimate was based on the abundance of fry that went into the ocean two years ago.
Then during the season, the commission downgraded the run size to 6.2 million pinks.
But the number of pinks caught in U.S. waters by commercial fishermen was only about 640,100, according to Sept. 11 data from the Pacific Salmon Commission..."
Fraser River pink salmon run a poor haul for U.S. fishermen
"...the Pacific Salmon Commission preseason forecast of 14.4 million. That estimate was based on the abundance of fry that went into the ocean two years ago.
Then during the season, the commission downgraded the run size to 6.2 million pinks.
But the number of pinks caught in U.S. waters by commercial fishermen was only about 640,100, according to Sept. 11 data from the Pacific Salmon Commission..."
OldBlackDog
Well-Known Member
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