Abundant pink salmon out-competing sockeye in British Columbia
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Vancouver Sun] By Randy Shore - July 22, 2014
Is it too soon to change B.C.’s iconic fish from the sockeye to the pink?
Probably, but we should be prepared nonetheless as evidence mounts that the phenomenal and persistent abundance of pink salmon is putting real pressure on other Pacific salmon and even sea birds that share the same food resources.
Local observations bring that trend into sharp relief. Pink returns to the Fraser averaged about five million fish through the ’60s and ’70s, but began to take off in the ’80s before settling in at an average of 15 million returns in peak years during the past decade.
Meanwhile, the returns of sockeye to the Fraser River have been nothing short of chaotic...
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