Biologists and fish and wildlife experts in Washington State say only about 100,000 sockeye salmon have returned to spawn and they want to know why.
Scientists had expected nearly 400,000 fish to return to their spawning grounds in the Lake Washington watershed this year but nearly three-quarters of the fish haven't shown up.
"The ocean's kind of a mysterious entity," Jim Ames of the state Fish and Wildlife Department told the Seattle Times Wednesday. "It's really a black box out there. First of all we don't know where these fish go out in the ocean."
Biologists say 100,000 salmon would be the lowest spawning run ever for sockeye but it doesn't mean the species is endangered because the sockeye salmon run in Alaska could reach 32 million fish.
Copyright 2005 by United Press International
Related stories:
Fossil salmon found in Washington state
Scientists say that fossil salmon found on a riverbank in Washington state are sockeye from about 1 million years ago.
Signals from the Atlantic salmon highway
For years scientists have struggled to understand the decline and slow recovery of Atlantic salmon, a once abundant and highly prized game and food fish native to New England rivers. Biologists agree that poor marine survival is affecting salmon in the U.S. and Canada, but specific causes are difficult to determine in the ocean. Small acoustic tags and associated technology may provide some answers.
Eat oily fish at least once a week to protect your eyesight in old age
Eating oily fish once a week may reduce age-related macular degeneration (AMD) which is the major cause of blindness and poor vision in adults in western countries and the third cause of global blindness, according to a study published today in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Tiny invasive snail impacts Great Lakes, alters ecology
Long a problem in the western U.S., the New Zealand mud snail currently inhabits four of the five Great Lakes and is spreading into rivers and tributaries, according to a Penn State team of researchers. These tiny creatures out-compete native snails and insects, but are not good fish food replacements for the native species.
Eating fish may prevent memory loss and stroke in old age
Eating tuna and other types of fish may help lower the risk of cognitive decline and stroke in healthy older adults, according to a study published in the August 5, 2008, issue of
Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Japanese diet rich in fish may hold secret to healthy heart
If you're fishing for ways to reduce the risk of heart disease, you might start with the seafood-rich diet typically served up in Japan. According to new research, a lifetime of eating tuna, sardines, salmon and other fish appears to protect Japanese men against clogged arteries, despite other cardiovascular risk factors.
Scientists learn how food affects the brain
In addition to helping protect us from heart disease and cancer, a balanced diet and regular exercise can also protect the brain and ward off mental disorders.
Researchers say popular fish contains potentially dangerous fatty acid combination
Farm-raised tilapia, one of the most highly consumed fish in America, has very low levels of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids and, perhaps worse, very high levels of omega-6 fatty acids, according to new research from Wake Forest University School of Medicine.