Northwest Scientists Talking “Salmon” this Thanksgiving
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Portland, OR – A group of marine scientists is talking turkey about salmon this Thanksgiving. They're asking the federal government to come up with a real solution to salmon recovery in the Northwest before endangered killer whales ("Orcinus orca"), salmon and communities that depend on salmon fisheries dwindle to extinction.
Orca spend the fall and winter trying to feed at the mouth of the Columbia River. Their feast is becoming famine because federal policies are doing nothing to restore their food source, Pacific Northwest salmon. Dr. David Bain with Friday Harbor Labs says the need is desperate for a policy that revitalizes salmon populations, several of which also have been classified as endangered under federal law.
"It's good for the salmon, it's good for the killer whales and it's good for the people who would like to be making a living off of salmon or activities like whale-watching. It's also good for people who like to recreate through fishing or whale-watching."
Bain and other leading orca scientists are asking the federal government to add the removal of four dams on the Snake River to its newest salmon recovery plan. Without that provision, they say the plan is no better now than previous plans that did not do enough to protect salmon habitats and restore the food source for endangered orca.
"The recovery actions to date seem to be designed primarily to keep things from getting worse. They're not really designed to get us back to where we'll have stable salmon populations."
Bain says the Columbia River used to be the world's most productive salmon watershed. It is now at 1 percent of those historic levels.
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