Research Paper Final Draft– Commercial Fishing: The Only Cause for the Decline in Returning Salmon?

Commercial Fishing: The Only Cause for the Decline in Returning Salmon?

By David Mondok

English 213

Academic Writing Social and Natural Sciences

After years of discussions about the decline in returning salmon, I have begun to contemplate the reason for the decline. With all the research that has been done on the harvesting numbers and trending the decline of returning fish, we have seen poor numbers in the returns even with the Emergency Closures on harvesting seasons. Being a fisherman, I have seen and experienced some of the  factors that may be impacting the fisheries across the state. Which factors impact the fisheries the most? Although  commercial salmon harvests may be contributing to the decline of returning numbers, other factors are also having an effect on the salmon fisheries, because of increased recreational activity, sports fisherman harvests, and the introduction of an invasive predator.

While there is no way to have exact numbers in the salmon populations, we can provide rough estimates of population numbers and annual averages allowing us to make informed decisions on the management of our natural resources. To narrow down this topic I am going to focus on three of Alaska’s rivers the Kenai River, Copper River, and Deshka River. These rivers receive steady pressure throughout Alaska’s salmon fishing season and also have commercial fleets that harvest fish in the ocean near the mouth of these rivers (Tarbox, et al.).  They have also been monitored for several years with fish counters to provide biologists with relatively accurate information on the types of fish as well as the numbers.

On the Deshka River, fish biologists have been counting the returns of salmon to determine a 15 year average of 26,170 Chinook salmon and a 14 year average of 27,846 Coho salmon. Over the last 5 years, the Chinook population has fluctuated from 18,800 in 2007 to 19,100 in 2011, but dipped as low as 7,550 in 2008. Chinook salmon’s life cycles usually run 4-5 years which likely means that the Chinook run in 2012 will have a very poor outlook. The Coho runs over the last 5 years have seen similar fluctuation from 10,600 in 2007 to 7,550 in 2011, but had a spike in 2009 at 27,400. Coho salmon’s life cycle usually span 3-4, so in 2012 the Coho run maybe substantially higher than the previous years. In the last 5 years, the average run of Chinook salmon is 15,182, which is a decline of 12,664 from the 15 year average; while the Coho salmon’s average run over the last 5 years has been 13,709, which is a decline of 14,137 from the 14 year average (ADF&G, 2011a).

The Kenai River has been monitored very similarly to the Deshka River; however, due to receiving multiple runs of the same species the data is more difficult to keep concise, however the data can be converted into overall sums of the species runs. The 23 year average of Kenai River Chinook salmon for the early and late run combined is 57,935. Between 2007 and 2010 the Chinook runs average was 37,950 but due to no longer having an early run count, I cannot accurately provide an average for 2011. The late Chinook run count for 2011 was approximately 35,000 fish; however even without the early run count from 2011, the 5 year average is 36,475. The Sockeye salmon 21 year average is estimated to be 1,273,388. Over the last 5 years, Sockeye salmon runs have been remaining fairly steady ranging from 1,230,000 in 2007 to 1,599,300 in 2011, with 2008’s run being the lowest at 917,200. Between 2007 and 2011, the Sockeye salmon run average was 1,226,248. The Kenai River also receives runs of Coho salmon, but their numbers are not monitored as extensively as the Chinooks and Sockeyes. So, in the last 5 years, the average run of Chinook salmon is 36,475, which is a decline of 21,460 from the 23 year average. While the Sockeye salmon’s average run over the last 5 years has been 1,226,248, which is a decline of 47,140 for the 21 year average (ADF&G, 2011a).

The Sockeye run is the only run that is counted on the Copper River. The 11 year average for the Copper River Sockeye salmon run is 786,825. Over the last 5 years, 3 of the runs have stayed fairly steady from 926,500 in 2007 to 914,300 in 2011, but in 2008 and 2009 the salmon numbers were poorly recorded to sonar counter operations. With the 3 of the last 5 year runs being over the 11 year average, it appears that the Copper River Sockeye population is doing well or at least able to sustain steady numbers (ADF&G, 2011a).

Out of the 3 different rivers across the Alaska and 3 species of salmon, it appears that the Deshka River Coho salmon have seen the most drastic decline in numbers. There may be several reasons for this ranging from harvesting to invasive species of fish in the water ways. Throughout Alaska, salmon are harvested for personal and commercial use, both of which are regulated by Alaska Fish and Game by maintaining an open season. However, of the 3 species of salmon, only two of the species have set date for an open and a close of season and those species are Chinook and Sockeye salmon.

Commercial fishing is regulated by the length of fishing season, hours during the day, and days of the week that salmon can be caught. During the time that commercial fishing is authorized, there are few limits to the amount of fish that they can harvest. Commercial fishing, harvest fish by the ton and not the individual fish, which removes hundreds of thousands of potentially successfully spawning salmon from the water ways. For instance, the average Sockeye salmon in the Kenai River weighs 8 pounds, so it would take a total of 250 average-sized Sockeye to make one ton of salmon. In 2011, the commercial harvest numbers were reported at 794,838,000 pounds of fish and a combined total 176,127,000 salmon of all Alaskan caught salmon species (ADF&G, 2011c). While commercial fishing is regulated, the industry takes a substantial toll on the sustainability of the salmon population.

Across most of the state, it is legal to harvest Coho, Chum, and Pink salmon during the entire year, leaving high harvest numbers by sports fisherman. The regulation on sports fishing is more defined in some areas than others. Sports fishermen are restricted to 5 Chinook salmon for their annual harvest. However, during the course of the fishing season, they may keep up to 3 salmon of any other species a day. In certain areas, those numbers may even increase due to Emergency Orders if the Department of Fish and Game feel the escapement numbers are reached. Hypothetically, if a fisherman were to fish for 30 days of the fishing season, he could potentially harvest 90 salmon; if an Emergency Order isn’t released that increases the number of fish he can harvest a day to 6. If such an order was published, half-way through the season, he may harvest as many as 135 fish for personal use. This is a scenario that is very realistic in areas of the state with numerous people achieving similar numbers. So, while the state is restricting the harvest of Chinook salmon, other species of salmon are subjected to extremely high harvest rates from sports fisherman as well as commercial fishing companies.

There are also factors other than harvesting that may be causing the decline in salmon populations from human activities and predators. Humans have been utilizing the same streams and rivers that the salmon spawn in for rafting, boating, fishing, gold mining and even off-roading.  These activities disturb the stream beds kicking up rocks, silt, and even salmon eggs, which are either covered by the dislodged debris or eaten by the native fish that live in the waterways all year long (Levasseur, et al. 2006). If even, one salmon redds was destroyed nearly a 1,000 eggs could be lost, lowering the returning population even more.

Out of the human activities that have been listed above, the two most detrimental ones are boating and off-roading. Boating on shallow streams that salmon spawn in can destroy almost all the redds in the path of the boat, but may also damage those that the boats prop wash or jet out-put does come close to by the wake of the boat causing erosion of the banks, which will reduce the water circulation within the redds, limiting the oxygen that reaches the developing embryos (Levasseur, etc. 2006). Off-roading may not affect as many redds along the streams but will have the same effect on those downstream. While it is enjoyable to play in the outdoors, there is no need to take a large boat up a stream that is only a few feet deep or drive a vehicle across a creek bed.

In Alaskan rivers, salmon fry or smolt’s natural predators are trout, birds, and some mammals like river otters (Scheuerell, et al. 2007). In some areas of Alaska they face a new predator in the ecosystem and that is the Northern Pike, a very aggressive predatory fish that can consume over half a dozen smolts in one day (ADF&G, 2011b). Humans have caused some of the pike infestations in salmon streams by releasing them with the intent of sports fishing (Alaska Fishing Spots & Ideas, 2011). In areas where pike are now present, the salmon numbers have begun to decline; the Deshka River is one such area (Dalton, 2002). Pike tend to prefer slower, more vegetated waterways that also happen to be the habitat for the salmon fry. Pike have very few natural predators; the largest threats to pike are larger pike. With pike consuming large numbers of smolt in the rivers, it reduces the number of salmon that will face the open ocean and reach mature spawning age.

While it is an ever revolving cycle of life, the age old adage holds true, “Which came first the chicken or the egg?” As harvesting salmon targets the mature spawning fish, it reduces the number of eggs that turn into smolt, the factors that reduce the number of smolt that make it to the ocean reduces the return of spawning fish. While it is important to have a healthy escapement of adult salmon, it may be even more important to reduce the disruption of the salmon redds were large numbers of eggs are vulnerable.

Over the last decade, the amount of salmon that is harvest of the coast of Alaska has grown drastically (Irvine, J. R., & Fukuwaka, M., 2011). With the entire world looking to have a piece of this nutrient rich food, the demand for salmon has increased (Irvine, J. R., & Fukuwaka, M. 2011). Commercial companies are not just harvesting salmon by the ton but by thousands of tons a year. By placing a limit on the amount of fish one company can harvest and shipped from Alaska the massive quantities of fish that are caught and sent around the world would be reduced. It may seem to be a selfish act, but these companies are taking away from the resources of Alaska and reducing the population of salmon across the board. In order to enforce this proposal, it would cost Alaska millions of dollars in law enforcement but would also create more jobs along the coast, bringing more stability to Alaska’s economy.

While reducing the number of salmon harvested may be important, the state would have to impose seasonal catch limits on salmon species similar to those that regulate Chinook salmon harvests. By putting a seasonal limit on sportsman harvest instead of just a daily limit, the state could regulate the number of salmon each individual harvests during the year. In the subsistence areas of Alaska, this would be difficult to implement without allowing for an additional supplement. The other factors that would arise from a seasonal limit is determining the number of fish that would be allowed by one individual to harvest and how to enforce the recording of the harvests, which would cost the state more money supporting wildlife enforcement.

The most important aspect of preserving any species is allowing for a larger number of the population to breed. By placing restriction on the use of the waterways that are used by the salmon to build their redds, the species receives the greatest chance for their numbers to rebound. It will be difficult to get the approval of Alaskans in order to put restrictions on the waterways, but the easiest way to gain approval is by doing a trial phase on rivers across the state, where the activities that cause the most disruption to the river bed are restricted to certain parts of the river and times of the year. By running a trial period of 5 years, on the selected river it would be possible to see how the restrictions have benefited the population of salmon in the area over 2 or possibly 3 life cycles of salmon. A boating restriction program has already been implemented on certain areas of the Kenai River in 2008 by the Department of Natural Resources (Kosto, 2008), so why would it not be possible in other areas of the state?

The only ways to begin controlling the outbreak of northern pike in Alaska’s salmon streams is by offering a bounty on the fish or encourage kill-or-capture movement in those areas. By enlisting the help of the anglers in the state and offering an incentive, the state may be able to reduce the number of pike affecting the salmon population. Similar programs have initiated to control the population of Northern Pikeminnows (BPA’s Fish and Wildlife Department, 2011). With pike’s aggressive nature, they are a very entertaining fish to seek because of their explosive power on top-water lures and their fighting strength (North Country Canoe Outfitters, 2011). By drastically reducing the number of pike that live in the salmon streams, the prey on which they feed will begin to rebound. Unfortunately, it seems the only way to completely remove pike from these waters would be to conduct a fish kill, which would decimate ecosystems along the rivers and even in the ocean, of course removing this as a viable option.

The regulations that are in place to protect the salmon population have been enough to prevent a complete failure of the ecosystem but have not been as effect as they need to be. Through having harvest regulations for the entire state of Alaska and utilizing Emergency Orders to either close the areas that salmon runs have been weak or encourage more harvesting in areas with high salmon returns, the state has been able to slow the downward spiral of one of its vital resources. However, I do not feel that it has been successful enough to sustain the population and the resource indefinitely. The Alaskan government needs to do more to ensure the survival of its greatest renewable resource.

While the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is having a difficult time trying to devise and implement ways to sustain the state’s salmon population, it is possible for the residence of Alaska to start protecting their lifestyle, by avoiding activities that can disturb the eggs of spawned salmon, minimize the harvesting to only the amount they will need during the year, and try to curb the population and spread of pike by harvesting as many as is allowed. There is no sure fire plan or way to prevent the decline of Alaska’s salmon population but there is a way to give the salmon a fighting chance and that is everyone in Alaska to do their part.

 

References

ADF&G, (2011a). Alaska Department of Fish and Game Fish Counts. Retrieved from website: http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/sf/FishCounts/index.cfm?ADFG=main.LocSelectYearSpecies

ADF&G, (2011b). Why Use Rotenone. Retrieved from website: http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=rotenone.why

ADF&G, (2011c). 2011 Alaska Commercial Salmon Harvests — Exvessel Values. Retrieved from website:  http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/fishing/PDFs/commercial/11exvesl.pdf

Alaska Fishing Spots & Ideas. (2011, November 29). Northern pike invading alaska. Retrieved from http://alaskabestfishing.org/northern-pike-invading-alaska.html

BPA’s Fish and Wildlife Department. (2011, NOVEMBER 08). How to save a salmon (and make money doing it). Retrieved from http://www.pikeminnow.org/index.html

Dalton, R. (2002). Pike pests ravage Alaska’s salmon. Nature, 418(6901), 907. Retrieved from http://www.ebscohost.com

Irvine, J. R., & Fukuwaka, M. (2011). Pacific salmon abundance trends and climate change. ICES Journal of Marine Science / Journal du Conseil, 68(6), 1122-1130. doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsq199

Levasseur, M., Bergeron, N. E., Lapointe, M. F., & Bérubé, F. (2006). Effects of silt and very fine sand dynamics in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) redds on embryo hatching success. Canadian Journal of Fisheries & Aquatic Sciences, 63(7), 1450-1459. doi:10.1139/F06-050

North Country Canoe Outfitters. (2011). Fishing for Northern Pike in the BWCA. Retrieved from http://boundarywaters.com/fishing_northern.html

Scheuerell, M. D., Moore, J. W., Schindler, D. E., & Harvey, C. J. (2007). Varying effects of anadromous sockeye salmon on the trophic ecology of two species of resident salmonids in southwest Alaska. Freshwater Biology, 52(10), 1944-1956. Retrieved from http://www.ebscohost.com

Tarbox, K. E., & Thorne, R. E. (1996). Assessment of adult salmon in near-surface waters of Cook Inlet, Alaska. ICES Journal Of Marine Science / Journal Du Conseil, 53(2), 397-401. Retrieved from http://www.ebscohost.com

Kosto, J. Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Parks & Outdoor Recreation. (2008). New motor & boat regulations kenai river special management area. Retrieved from website: http://dnr.alaska.gov/mlw/factsht/kenai_river_boat_motor_regulations.pdf