By DYANI CHAPMAN
Unlike their relatives in the Lower 48, the five types of Alaska salmon (king, chum, pink, sockeye and silver) are not officially endangered. However, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski told the Legislature in her annual address that kings are edging closer and the Yukon and Kuskokwim chum run declines are concerning. To keep our salmon off the endangered species list we must take action. Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (RAWA) will provide important funding for Alaska’s wildlife action plan.
Under ice in lakes and creeks, salmon hatchlings will emerge soon. The egg sac the alevin emerges from will still be a bulge on the tiny fish’s belly and will nourish its growth in its first few weeks. Staying close to the rocky creek bottom, the hatchling grows into its fry phase as the ice melts. Plentiful plankton and larvae in the water provide the nutrients needed to grow rapidly. Submerged logs and rocks offer shelter from predators including fish, bald eagles and migratory birds. Pink and chum heed the primal signal to enter the ocean almost right away. Kings reside in freshwater for about a year before migrating. Sockeye and silver stay in freshwater longest, a couple years, before smolting and departing on their epic migration.
Salmon are anadromous – they live in both fresh and salt water in their migratory journeys. They experience a dramatic transformation when they have fattened up on Pacific crustaceans and journey back to their birthplace. Their color and shape change, which helps attract a spawning mate. Following the taste of their spawning waters, or perhaps a magnetic signal, the fish evade predators again, until they’re back in shallow creek water, even foregoing food in their quest. Here, the female clears a patch among the rocks to deposit thousands of eggs and the male fertilizes them. Then the adults become listless and die. Winter’s ice covers the eggs, and the cycle of life begins anew.
Only about 1% of the billions of eggs that females deposit in the fall survive to maturity. Even fewer evade predators to make it back to their birthplaces to initiate the next generation. Salmon are among the migratory species threatened by habitat loss, climate change and human activity, says a report from the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species. The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act will counteract some of those threats by allowing local fish and wildlife officials and Tribes to act before a population decline becomes irreversible.
A sudden drop in numbers can happen quickly – and salmon are showing worrisome signs. In its 2023 Arctic Report Card, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) noted that both king and chum salmon populations had been reduced to less than 80% of the 30-year mean. Most of the salmon sampled weighed less and matured earlier than those in historical records.
Warming oceans are a real threat to Alaska’s salmon. Additionally, global warming has created droughts in parts of the state and has fed historic wildfires. Loss of vegetation can cause erosion that spills into streams, disrupting salmon spawning beds. Similarly, disappearing glaciers mean less water flowing into those streams, threatening the fish’s ability to return for spawning. Man-made hazards like mines and dams present existential threats.
Better than waiting for a species to decline, the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act allows state fish and wildlife officials to take proactive measures such as comprehensive and ongoing monitoring to set the right limits on fishing each season, ensuring water is only diverted when there is sufficient flow, habitat restoration and pollution reduction. We’ve watched as salmon populations in the Lower 48 declined and even disappeared. There’s no excuse for that happening again. It would be particularly traumatic in Alaska. Here, salmon feed people and other wildlife and, after death, fertilize riverbanks.
Salmon, fisheries and Alaskans all benefit if we take meaningful action before any species gets to the point where they need to be added to the endangered list. We must maintain and restore the abundance of Alaska’s salmon; Recovering America’s Wildlife Act will provide necessary resources to act.
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Dyani Chapman is the state director of Alaska Environment. She lives in Anchorage, and works on issues relating to clean air and water, healthy ecosystems and a livable climate.
