A Comprehensive Study of Salmon, Its Features and Population

Salmoniformes or otherwise known as Salmon live in the northern Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and can sometimes be found swimming in the Great Lakes. A majority of salmon are anadromous, which means they are born in freshwater, migrate to the sea, and return to freshwater to reproduce. Young salmon eat insects, invertebrates, and plankton, while adults eat other fish, squid, eels, and shrimp. They also breakdown nitrogen, supplying it to the plants and animals around them. How salmon look can vary greatly from species to species. Species like Coho salmon have a metallic blue dorsal fin, while some have black spots on their sides, like the Atlantic salmon.

Most of these species maintain one color when living in salt water, then change color when they are on spawning grounds that are in freshwater. The sockeye salmon are blue with some silver when in the ocean but when when on spawning grounds they are red bodied and green headed. Popular species of salmon in US are the Chinook, Coho, Atlantic, and Sockeye salmon. Salmon have been an effective resource for many years. Native Americans have centered their lives around the yearly arrival of salmon and have honored these fish in their cultural traditions. Salmon have long been respected, not only as a food source but also as spiritual beings that should not be over harvested or wasted. Salmon had thrived in spawning areas in the Columbia River, Garcia River, Connecticut River, and many more.

There was between 10-12 million salmon in eastern North America. They were preserved through fishing methods and practices that protect the health of salmon runs. This tradition of sustainable salmon harvesting began many years ago, but it came to a sudden end when Europeans began intensive commercial fishing along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. By the early 1800’s Atlantic salmon numbers had declined so much that fish hatcheries were built in an effort to bolster populations. Populations in the Atlantic Ocean and in parts of the Pacific, as well as the rivers, have dropped dramatically from what they were. For example, in the Colorado River salmon numbers are down to 3% of what they were during the time of Lewis and Clark.

Salmon runs along the West Coast were greatly impacted at the start of industrialization, with heavy demands for fish to feed gold miners during the California Gold Rush. Sediment from mines would runoff fand have a tremendous effect on the health of salmon streams. By 1900, salmon runs in Washington and Oregon were beginning to decline. In the decades that followed, fish traps, overfishing for canneries, clearcut logging, mining, dams and other habitat changes all took huge tolls on the once-prolific salmon runs. Salmon have declined due to dams.

Even though there are many threats facing salmon today there are still potential solutions that can solve the effects of humans on the salmon population. If we can create a way to allow salmon to pass through part of the dam, then they will still be able to migrate upstream. This way the dams can continue to produce electricity, and salmon are still able to get to their spawning grounds. Another solution is to get rid of the dams that are interfering with salmon migration.