Why do sockeye flourish and chinook fail in Alaska’s changing climate? Scientists say they have clues to help explain this tale of two salmon.
on the Yukon River. Meanwhile, sockeye – or reds – are having another banner year in Bristol Bay, and everywhere. Scientists say they don’t know exactly why one salmon species is doing so well while the other is in crisis, but some clues are coming into sharper focus.Sockeye use lakes as their nurseries. Since the 1980s the water in those lakes has warmed significantly. The warmth stimulates plankton to reproduce more, and young sockeye eat plankton.
“So the Nushagak, the Igushik, even the Kuskokwim River, which never really had that many sockeye in it – all those populations have really exploded in the last decade,” he said. Her research shows Yukon chinook who spawn during a warm-water year produce fewer juveniles. The water temperatures in the Yukon sometimes get to 68 degrees now.
“So if that lower main stem is unfavorable,” he said, “or if the Bering Sea just went through a heatwave and they have to make it into the lower main stem with less gas in the tank than they need to swim 1,000 miles plus — they’re in trouble.” Near the peak of the Kuskokwim run “there will be anywhere from 20,000 to 40,000 sockeye salmon passing the sonar in one day,” said Kevin Whitworth, executive director of the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. “That’s a lot of protein.”to scoop up sockeye without hurting Kuskokwim chinook. The giant nets – sometimes 5 feet in diameter – are not a traditional tool for the region. on Facebook featuring testimonials from tribal elders.
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