Add salmon to the list of species affected by Alaska's blistering summer temperatures, including the hottest July on record. Dead salmon have shown up in river systems throughout Alaska, and the mortalities are probably connected to warm water or low river water levels, said Sam Rabung, director
1 / 3Warm Alaska-Salmon DeathsThis July 2019 photo provided by Peter Westley shows carcasses of chum salmon lie along the shore of the Koyukuk River near Huslia, Alaska. Alaska scientists and fisheries managers are investigating the deaths of salmon that may be tied to the state's unusually hot, dry summer. July was the hottest month ever recorded in Alaska.
The deaths should not be a surprise because climate models have for years forecast unhealthy Alaska river temperatures for salmon, said Peter Westley, assistant professor of fisheries conservation and fisheries ecology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Temperatures above 55 degrees put stress on salmon, Mauger said, and her group on July 7 recorded a temperature of 81.7 in the Deshka River, a major salmon stream north of Anchorage. It's a temperature that climate models predicted wouldn't be reached until 2069, she said.Dead salmon showed up in in rivers that empty into the Bering Sea, with the Norton Sound Economic Development Corp. reported massive numbers of dead pink salmon on July 11.
Wesley suspects multiple factors tied to warm water killed the adult salmon, who stop eating when they enter freshwater and must rely on fat reserves and salmon burn energy faster in warm water. One of the top concerns for state fish and game officials is making sure enough fish escape fishermen and predators to reach spawning grounds. It's too early to assess whether salmon reproduction will be down in some streams, Rabung said. It varies greatly each year and good conditions for hatchling survival can compensate for fewer spawning adults, he said.
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