Overwhelmed with fish
November 8, 2024 9:23 AM   Subscribe

Record sockeye run numbers in Okanagan Valley. Salmon are returning to areas previously blocked by dams after hatchery efforts to reintroduce fish.
posted by Mitheral (13 comments total) 10 users marked this as a favorite
 
Good on you Salmon!

And good on Washington for removing the dams.
posted by Windopaene at 9:28 AM on November 8 [2 favorites]


this is nice to see, thanks
posted by daisystomper at 9:57 AM on November 8


Something about animals migrating in large numbers is so heartwarming. Especially so if they are aquatic / amphibian / crustacean.
For example Christmas Island crab migration was in the news this week.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 10:44 AM on November 8


Like this just amazes me

The exact timing and speed of the migration is determined by the phase of the moon. Red crabs always spawn before dawn on a receding high-tide during the last quarter of the moon. Incredibly, they know exactly when to leave their burrows to make this lunar date.
However, because crabs wait until the first rainfall to start their trek, they sometimes have to hurry. If the rains arrive close to the optimal spawning date, they will move rapidly. But if the rain comes early they may take their time, stopping to eat and drink on their way to the coast.

posted by St. Peepsburg at 10:46 AM on November 8 [2 favorites]


That’s a lot of salmon!
posted by Captaintripps at 10:51 AM on November 8 [1 favorite]


I should RTFA but how in the heck did those salmon know to head back up to those spawning grounds after decades of inaccessibility?

On preview: Well shoot I should’ve RTFA’d first. I thought this News involved the Klamath River in Oregon/Norcal, where they’ve just removed a dam.
posted by notyou at 11:18 AM on November 8 [2 favorites]


!!!!!!!! love you salmon
posted by Lawn Beaver at 11:28 AM on November 8


But those fish love jumping up dams. I saw it an electric company documentary.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 1:21 PM on November 8 [1 favorite]


I hope that in my lifetime we'll see salmon return through the full 2000km to the headwaters of the Columbia River (the Okanagan is a tributary of the Columbia, but dams further along still block salmon from returning to the Canadian part of the Columbia, except for some special transplantation efforts).
posted by ssg at 2:39 PM on November 8


Too bad hatcheries harm wild fish.
posted by Dougoh at 2:54 PM on November 8


I hope that in my lifetime we'll see salmon return through the full 2000km to the headwaters of the Columbia River

Wouldn't that be nice, but the dams on the Columbia River are what make Lewiston Idaho an international port. Billions of dollars of agricultural products move through the Columbia every year, and the dams are what make that possible. Maybe someday the Bonneville, Dalles, John Day, and McNary dams will come down, but not in my lifetime.

I feel very conflicted about the Columbia River system. Those dams are marvels of engineering! (They say the US won the war in the Pacific because of the power generated by Grand Coulee Dam.) Eastern Washington and Oregon are major agricultural areas because of the irrigation made possible by the dams.

On the other hand, salmon, and steelhead, and many other species, and the glories of those ecosystems are lost. And the tribes in the region have suffered enormously by all these changes and the effects on protected treaty rights.

In the absence of some major change in how international trade works, and the US' relationship with the rest of the world, there will be strong incentives against removing any of the dams on the mainstem of the Columbia River.
posted by suelac at 3:15 PM on November 8 [1 favorite]


Too bad hatcheries harm wild fish.

Broken link
posted by scruss at 6:55 AM on November 9


Here's a link from David Suzuki. The arguments aren't without merit and probably true in a lot of cases however most are talking about the impact on wild fish (vs hatchery fish) and in this specific case there weren't any salmon (though their used to be) to be effected.
posted by Mitheral at 9:15 AM on November 9


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