Are Chinook Salmon Really Worth Saving?!
Chinook salmon are one of the most fascinating and resilient species on earth. Their strength and persistence in unparalleled in the animal kingdom. And yet, their numbers are dramatically falling in the Columbia River and the Central Valley due to anthropogenic threats. This decline in population must be slowed down, and there are several ways that this change can occur. Augmenting chinook salmon populations in these locations would create a long-term payoff for both ecological reasons and economic.
Losing salmon would be detrimental to the economy, especially on the coasts as the regional economic impact of commercial salmon in 2013 in California alone was $244 million dollars. (The Fish Report, 2014). We often don’t think of salmon as being a large local fishery on the west coast, but it is, in fact, a very important economic contributor. However, this goes beyond just the price of the fish itself. Chinook salmon are an
Chinook salmon are especially important in the Columbia River because of their contribution to the commercial and recreational fishing industries, as well as attracting tourists and being a part of the native culture. Washington relies on wildlife for economic prosperity with $1.1 billion coming from sports fishing, and $3.8 coming from commercial fishing. Chinook salmon, “king salmon,” is a very popular fish to catch, without healthy salmon populations, Washington state would suffer a great deal economically (Olsen, 2006). Outdoors and nature is very important to locals from the Washington area, as well as many tourists who come to visit. Chinook salmon are not only an attraction themselves, but attract many other animals such as birds, badgers, bears, and other salmon-eating animals. The salmon also make the soil healthy and nutrient-rich with their decaying bodies so the plants grow to be lush and they thrive. This continues to attract tourists and bring in economic cash flow. Native American culture has proven to be a very important reason to save the chinook salmon in the
The following passages are opinions of the authors of this site. Please read for a more fluent understanding of the endangerment of chinook salmon!
Every species has the right to live. For a lot of species in the chinook salmons environment, they depend on the salmon for their survival. Chinook salmon’s vital niche as a nutrient recycler is an essential part of its ecosystems food web because of its indicational purpose. As an indicator species, it shows when the species is doing poorly because the entire ecosystem displays the same indications. A lack of nutrients from the chinook can often result in a decreased biodiversity. Combined factors have to lead a 90% decrease in total population (Endangered Species Coalition, 2017). Without their crucial transportation of nutrients upstream, multiple factors of the surrounding environment are impacted greatly.
The chinook salmon transfer more than just carbon and nitrogen to their ecosystems, they also transfer phosphorus, potassium, proteins, and lipids (OROVILLE FERC RELICENSING, 2003). Potassium helps with plant growth rates, Phosphorus helps with root growth, and Nitrogen or Nitrate is a natural form of oxygen in the soil. (EPA, 2017). These nutrients are vital to its ecosystems survival, and each one playing a different crucial role in the plant's ability to thrive in its environment. Without them, plants are unable to reach their full potential.
The reasons for restoring the chinook salmon populations in the Central Valley have such a great significance it is hard to even comprehend why they are still endangered here. The western U.S. reared and released 12 million chinook salmon to support fisheries in California. In the Sacramento River alone, salmon fishing is valued at over $100 million annually, and yet they are endangered here (Net Worth The Economic Value of Fisheries Conservation, 2011). Their larger impact, however, lies in their role as a nutrient cycler. Salmon are the only species that brings nutrients back up to the rivers and creeks. This is especially important in the Central Valley because this nutrients goes directly into the soil and the plants that grow our food. Without this nutrients, the plants would not grow as fast or be as healthy. The Central Valley is one of the most productive, fertile agricultural regions on the planet. It produces almost all the almonds, olives, walnuts, pistachios, grapes, strawberries, avocados, carrots, tomatoes, and lettuce in the country. The economic worth of the milk and cattle in the Central Valley alone is $13.1 billion. To lose the chinook salmon in this region would mean causing a detrimental decrease in crop production, rippling to all Americans and affecting our economy greatly (Sofer, 2016).
In addition to the plant life that depends on the chinook, many mammals rely on salmon for food during the abbreviate journey down and back upstream. Primary mammals such as the Bald Eagle, Otters, and Grizzly Bears depend on the return of salmon each year (Scott, Caren, 2017). Just like humans, these mammals hunt down the fish in order to survive. But with a possible population crash, these dependent food sources become limited. This rippling effect can cause entire food webs to collapse through the lack of food sources for these predators. If this species is not helped, entire ecosystems could fall apart and directly impact our economy when it comes to food resources, lumber, and in general the natural aesthetic these ecosystems provide.
As humans, we have the capability to help reinstate the chinook salmon population by not supporting mass fishing and dam construction, and by monitoring where your fish comes from. Purchasing from areas where chinook is heavily endangered is detrimental to the Chinook population. In addition to human consumption, signing petitions is a great approach to helping voice a message to a bigger widespread audience when it comes to endangerment, and can even help recruit new people to the cause. Petitions are a great way to help a cause that does not affect your community directly but instead helps solve a bigger issue at hand. In general, though, it is up to individuals to stand up and help protect the chinook from facing critical endangerment. Though saving a fish species doesn't seem like it would have an impact on any one individual's life, each salmon possess the power and ability to fuel and grow entire ecosystems, some of which we depend on in our everyday lives without even realizing it. With our help, we can ensure that this species continues to thrive, and with it the habitats around them.
important part of the economy and contribute in an incomparable way to our financial market. In 2013, each salmon caught in-river was worth an economic impact of approximately $1,176. This value is because of the jobs, sales, gross regional product, and ripple effects salmon has on the economy, without it, there is a great gap in economic prosperity (The Fish Report, 2014). Additionally, 68,000 jobs in the U.S. can be attributed to the economic contribution of the national fisheries program. The total economic impact of tax dollars invested in national fisheries program is $3.6 billion (Net Worth The Economic Value of Fisheries Conservation, 2011). Salmon make up a large portion of this, and therefore supports a very large amount of people economically.
Opinion written by Neely.
Opinion written by Wulff.
(Buchner, 2017)
Columbia River. For generations, Chinook Salmon have been a symbol of unwavering resilience and strength for numerous Native American Tribes in the Pacific Northwest. The cultural role chinook salmon play in Washington is incomparable to any other species in the region. Chinook salmon were very important to many tribes in the Pacific Northwest and there was even a tribe called The Chinook Tribe. By preserving the chinook salmon themselves, we are preserving the culture of those who came before us and respecting their spiritual wishes.
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For such an ecologically, and economically valuable species, I believe it should not only be encouraged but be made necessary to take immediate measures to conserve this species. Chinook
salmon provide a multitude of ecosystem services, and economic services that far outweigh the small prices we must pay to conserve this species. Dam removal has proven to be a very successful way to restore chinook salmon populations and keep the river healthy. The largest dam removal in U.S. history took place in 2011 when the Elwha dam was removed. Chinook salmon swam right past the dam only three days after complete demolition. This dam removal restored 70 miles
of spawning habitat in the Elwha, an incredible victory for salmon and humans alike. Because of the dam, anadromous fish populations had declined by 98% during the past century. However, an incredible turnaround of the ecosystem has been seen on the Elwha. Elk are moving in and walking through the location that used to be the reservoir, and birds have been noted to be plumper and bearing more young. The fish populations are booming, with more than 4,000 spawning chinook counted above where the location of the former Elwha Dam was after only the first season following removal. The fish populations are the highest in 30 years! (Mapes, 2016). More dam removal projects need to take place as there are still 14 dams on the Columbia River alone (Mapes, 2016). Another measure that could be taken is creating stronger laws on the fishing of wild chinook salmon in and around these endangered areas. These fish need to be protected so that they can provide us with their ecosystem services. By limiting the number caught, the age caught, and when they were caught, we could reduce the amount of wild chinook salmon caught and hopefully their populations will return to a stable size eventually. While I do think there is a long road ahead to completely returning these chinook salmon back to their former healthy populations sizes, I do believe that if we maintain a steady and righteous course, we will be able to restore their populations back to a healthy size.
(Gibbons, 2017)
(Lambert, 2017)
(Jones, 2014)
(Jones, 2014)
(Jones, 2014)
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Image Courtesy of Wix