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Write 5 page essay on the topic The Fraser River: Canadas Pacific Coast and British Columbia.Fraser has been known for its large Sockeye salmon runs, averaging from 15 to 50 million salmon per season
Write 5 page essay on the topic The Fraser River: Canadas Pacific Coast and British Columbia.
Fraser has been known for its large Sockeye salmon runs, averaging from 15 to 50 million salmon per season (July-August). Based on historical records, sockeye salmon and salmon in general have been found to return to Fraser on a fairly consistent pattern, often returning within days of the previous years. However, since 2006 there has been a startling collapse in the Sockeye salmon count with fewer than 1 million returning in 2009 (Nickel). This was contrasted by exceptionally high sockeye run in 2010 when for the first time in four years the commercial sockeye salmon fishery was re-opened (CBC News a). Relevance/ Importance of the Question It is important to get some answer to this alarming change in Fraser River Sockeye salmon runs because it has a significant impact to the environment and the economy of Canada. The spawning salmons provide nutrition and plentiful food source for bears and eagles in the area. The rich nutrition from the salmon helps the bears to come together in high concentrations and attain massive size. Salmon is also a source of food for bald eagles, gulls, and other creatures that forage along the river during the annual run. Adult salmon are known to die after spawning and this creates a rich source of nutrients for plants and trees. Salmons are also a source of food for seals, sea-lions, otters and killer whales in the estuary and ocean habitats. The environmental consequences of a massive reduction in salmon runs would alter the food availability and will have a profound impact on all these animals and birds. Consequently, the aboriginals who live along the river depend on these fish for a living since they have little or no other source of income. A slump in the salmon count of this magnitude affects their livelihood and survival. The massive salmon runs are also important for food companies who fish extensively in the Fraser for Sockeye salmon. When the Canadian government closed Fraser River for commercial and sport fishing during the low runs, food companies had to look to other areas of British Columbia or Alaska to get their fish. Challenges Sockeye Salmon Face The sockeye salmon’s ecosystem is made of interrelated complex of biological communities and environmental conditions each of which can significantly influence the salmon count. For successful spawning, the sockeyes need low to moderate winter stream flows. Young sockeyes (smolts) migrate downstream to freshwater/saltwater transition zone (estuary habitat) and stay there for 1 or 2 years. During this phase they are vulnerable to predation by other fishes and birds. Good quality water and abundant food resources in this life stage is important to ensure faster growth rate of salmon which increases the survival of the young sockeye and reduces their vulnerability to predators. These smolts migrate to the ocean in spring where the shore and open ocean environment supports predation by fish, birds, and other marine mammals. Theories to Explain the Decline in Sockeye Salmon Runs Various theories have been put forward to explain this decline in the Sockeye salmon numbers. 1. Sea lice infection: Research has shown that sockeye smolts get infested with sea lice as they swim north from the Fraser through the Strait of Georgia. The source of the sea lice have been identified as the commercial fish farms which the smolts have to pass en route to the ocean.
