Tag Archives: California’s drought
Salmon decline reveals worrisome trend
The sad story of an orca carrying her dead calf for 17 days off the Washington coast this month has garnered global attention to the plight of killer whales in the region. It has also highlighted the steep decline in the region’s salmon stocks, the resident orcas’ sole food source. ,, That is because the availability of Pacific Ocean salmon has been trending low for the past decade. The total pounds of chinook salmon caught off the Oregon coast in 2017 fell 40% compared with the year before, according to Oregon Department Fish & Wildlife (ODFW) data. Between 2014 and 2017, total pounds caught dropped 80% and the value of the catch dropped 72% to $5 million. Drought in California and nutrient-starved ocean conditions are blamed for the decline. >click to read<16:15
Imperiled fish add to California’s drought stress
Their populations dwindling, Northern California’s fish suddenly are taking a leading role in the drought-related drama gripping the state. State regulators, alarmed at declining numbers of winter-run Chinook salmon, acted in late May to temporarily curtail the flow of water from Lake Shasta, hoping to cool the giant reservoir’s waters and prevent another massive die-off of juvenile fish. The move means less water, at least for the time being, for farmers and urban Californians downstream. Read the rest here 11:06
