Sockeye salmon deaths in the Columbia River Basin are rising in alarming rates. The single-year, 90 percent death rate of 510,000 sockeye salmon reported by National the Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) may be avoided with a faster response rate.
According to Chron Ritchie Graves of NOAA pointed out that excessive talking is getting in the way of saving the endangered Snake River sockeye salmon. "There was too much talking and not enough action and experimentation," Ritchie Graves stated.
Judge says feds' plan to recover salmon&steelhead in the Columbia River basin fails to address dams' effect on fish https://t.co/LcrcAHoGce
— Save Our Wild Salmon (@savewildsalmon) 4 May 2016
Combining factors such as heat wave and low water flows in rivers causes temperatures to rise to lethal levels in 2015. The sockeye salmon, which needs cold water to survive, are unable to survive such precarious conditions. Oregon Live points out that of the 101,000 sockeye salmon returning form the Pacific Ocean, half died because of the summer water temperature.
"Should similar events occur frequently, the impact on sockeye salmon populations in the Columbia River basin could be substantial," the NOAA report pointed out. NOAA proposed that a fast response from Northwest fisheries managers is key to saving the sockeye salmon.
"99% died as they tried to go farther upstream.” We can’t afford another deadly summer for Snake River salmon. https://t.co/LI13dn4WkS. — Save Our Wild Salmon (@savewildsalmon) 20 April 2016
Among other things, fisheries managers are recommended to be given accurate reporting on fish ladder temperatures. In this way sufficient cool water can be released when the water becomes too warm for the sockeye salmon.
Water levels can also be used to enable the sockeye salmon to move cooler parts of the rivers. Ritchie Graves further said that more than a few other measures can be taken to manage water temperature in lower Columbia River.
NOAA qualifies that water temperature are river flow are not the only aggravating factors in sockeye salmon deaths. Barge transport of young sockeye salmon affects the homing skills of these fish. Survival then becomes more difficult for this group of sockeye salmon when journeying to and from the Snake River.
