USA: Concern grows among fishermen and scientists about low silver salmon returns in Cook Inlet

Published Sep 27, 2024

Tridge summary

Silver and coho salmon numbers in Alaska's Cook Inlet have been significantly decreasing in recent years, leading to concerns and restrictions on fishing. The decline, part of a larger statewide issue, has resulted in the smallest commercial harvest of coho in Cook Inlet since record-keeping began in 1985. Factors such as climate change, including in-river water temperature anomalies and changes in ocean conditions, are potential causes, though more research is being done. The decline mirrors trends seen on the West Coast, where coho salmon runs have been impacted by dams, habitat issues, overfishing, and climate change. In Alaska, limitations on fishing and hatchery production efforts are part of an effort to mitigate the issue, with scientists monitoring the situation closely and considering the effects of warm, dry conditions in 2019 on salmon populations.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

Feisty at the end of the rod and light and mellow at the center of the plate, silver or coho salmon have always been a symbol of the end of summer in Alaska. But, in the last several years, as tourism has wound down and the leaves have started to change around Cook Inlet, the silvers have failed to show up in the numbers people are used to. Fishermen and scientists are starting to worry. “One year’s poor return doesn’t tend to really send up red flags, but year after year after year, then you start to get concerned as a manager,” said Matt Miller, Alaska Department of Fish and Game fisheries management coordinator for Cook Inlet. This has not been a great fishing year overall. Commercial harvests for all five species of Alaska salmon statewide were down, according to the McKinley Research Group, which called the across-the-board poor harvest “atypical.” The Cook Inlet region saw the largest coho decline, at 84% below the harvest the year before, which was also poor. The inlet also ...

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