Salmon Swan Song?

In the opening scenes of the science fiction comedy The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the dolphins are escaping the Earth because it is about to be destroyed as they sing "thanks for all the fish!" Now, it seems, the fish are mysteriously disappearing.

An AP story today  reports a "stunning collapse" of California's chinook salmon population (also known as King Salmon), which is one of the biggest wild salmon runs on the West Coast. According to the report, there were 90,000 salmon in California's Central Valley last year as compared with 775,000 as recently as 2002!  The wildlife experts are stating that this is below the level necessary for sustainability.  The news has even the fishermen -- already having a tough year -- calling for a complete shutdown of salmon fishing off the California and Oregon coasts.  The Pacific Fishery Management Council, charged with regulating Pacific Coast fisheries, will meet this week to determine what action to take, which likely will be one of three options:

• a total ban on salmon fishing off California and Oregon coasts;
• severely limited fishing only in designated areas;
• catch-and-release fishing for scientific research purposes.

The real challenge is determining the cause of the precipitous decline. Apparently, there are 46 possible reasons or contributing factors that are suspected, including both man-made (water diversions, habitat destruction, dam operations, agricultural pollution) and natural causes (marine predators, ocean conditions).

The chinook and other salmon are highly valued in Native American tribal culture and spirituality (see http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/fishing/regional/enveducation/stories/native.pdf). While science tries to gather sufficient evidence to reach its own conclusions, we might learn something by asking the keepers of ancient Pacific west coast wisdom: why are the salmon leaving us?

UPDATE 4/11/08: The Pacific Fishery Management Council yesterday adopted the most restrictive salmon fisheries in the history for the West Coast, in response to the unprecedented collapse of Sacramento River fall Chinook and the exceptionally poor status of coho salmon from Oregon and Washington. The Council adopted a complete closure of commercial and sport Chinook fisheries off California and most of Oregon and allowed only a 9,000 fishery for hatchery coho only off Central and southern Oregon. The recommendation will be forwarded to the National Marine Fisheries Service for approval by May 1, 2008.

“The reason for the sudden decline of Sacramento River fish is a mystery at this time,” said Council Executive Director Don McIsaac. “The only thing that can be done in the short term is to cut back the commercial and recreational fishing seasons to protect the remaining fish. The longer-term solution will involve a wide variety of people, agencies, and organizations. But for now, unfortunately, those involved in the salmon fisheries are paying the price.”