Kodiak kings are in dire straits, and no one seems to know why...
The Ayakulik River failed to meet its minimum escapement goal of 4,800 kings two of the past three years. A strong return of 24,742 kings in 2004 slid to 3,071 last year, far short of the 10-year average of 13,400 spawners. The Karluk River fared even worse. Just 730 kings escaped in 2008, the lowest count on record. Kodiak biologists anticipate another dismal return this summer -- well short of the escapement goal of 3,600 to 7,300 fish biologists seek to ensure strong future runs. Nobody knows why the Kodiak fisheries crashed.
You can read the rest of the story here, in the Anchorage Daily News.
2 comments:
Is it safe to assume that bears have been eating more than their fair share of salmon these past few years?
Mary, Thanks for your interest. Although Kodiak island is home to over 3,000 very large bears, they are not nearly enough to affect the salmon population so severely. Unfortunately, human activities like commercial fishing may be to blame. Other rivers in Alaska are experiencing the same problem and it could signal bad things to come.
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