Climate change is causing fluctuations in salmon runs, both good and bad, and this year may be more of the same, researchers say.
Greg Taylor with Watershed Watch recently provided a recap for last year, outlining the highlights. He says pink salmon seem to be the one beneficiary of climate change, with better-than-expected returns nearly everywhere including twice what was expected for the Fraser River.
Elsewhere in the world they are colonizing rivers thousands of kilometres away from their home ranges, including the Arctic and Norway, where they are considered an invasive species.
On the other hand, sockeye everywhere continue to decline. Taylor says wild stocks are overfished in Alaska and Canada despite enhancement efforts.
Some populations of Chinook salmon had good returns, but others, including spring Fraser stocks, did not. Taylor says the climate is changing in the Salish Sea, affecting the entire food chain, and needs to be studied further.
