“Runs of king salmon continue to struggle across the state. There’s no simple explanation as to why. But our department researchers can say with confidence that the most significant factor is poor ocean survival. Something is happening out in the open ocean that is affecting survival of certain species of salmon, especially in their first year in the saltwater.”

This is significant because on Tuesday at 1pm at the Egan Center, the Board of Fisheries will be considering an emergency petition to halt the release of pink salmon from the Solomon Gulch Hatchery. You may want to weigh in after finishing this post, so stick with me and I’ll give you the information on how to do that.

According to KTOO, “a growing body of research indicates that biological problems can arise when pink salmon from hatcheries spawn with wild fish.”

Concerns among researchers are rising over the numbers of pinks released in the Pacific between Alaska, Russia, and Japan. Considering that 70% of salmon in the ocean are pinks, and 82 million of those are hatchery pinks, the impact on genetics, resilience, and the food chain (including other salmon species, e.g., Chinooks/Kings) cannot be ignored.

If you think the production and release of hatchery pink salmon should be slowed, you can weigh in in-person on Tuesday in Anchorage or in-writing. See this link for info: http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm…

Before concluding my fish ramblings, I can’t help but note that the ADF&G pointed out that the most significant factor causing low salmon returns is due to something happening in the ocean. They didn’t mention anything about horrific fish habitat conditions in Alaska like the Oregon attorney who wrote ballot measure #1 wants us to believe we have and is the problem. We don’t have horrific fish habitat conditions; we do a good job already protecting the habitat - and the host of unintended consequences the ballot measure would cause are why I’m a “no on one.”

If you share this post, please make sure my comments and not just the ktuu link are shared - thanks.

http://www.ktuu.com/…/Emergency-order-opens-Kenai-and-Kasil…