HighHard1 wrote: ↑Sat Feb 22, 2025 5:28 pmrainbow trout
You had me at hello.
HighHard1 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 20, 2025 1:40 pmThe problem of getting fish around the dams has largely been solved-there's as high as a 92-95 % survival around each dam-and nearly as good for returning fish which could be even greater with the installation of the Whoosh Fish Portal Passage system which gets fish over the dams in seconds and gets them upstream far more quickly and safely because the fish aren't exhausted and as vulnerable to predation.
Is that postively impacting non-natives or natives most?
Bird populations have exploded around the rivers-such as pelicans, cormorants and others that on fish. Despite all the fish planted, workarounds on the dams, numbers of returning fish remain basically in that window I mention above. If you're interested in getting into those numbers check out the Fish Passage Center-easy to Google.
"Connection denied by geolocation setting"
"We" don't control what goes on the around the Pacific Rim-the article chronicles why the humpies, chum or dog salmon have become desirable and that various private and governmental entities have flooded the ocean with them with the resultant negative impact on other salmon species. What we can control is what goes on in the streams where fish return. In our region, diverse entities who have traditionally different interests, the Tribe, farmers, fisherman and governmental entities have come together to form a long term watershed plan for restoring streams and watersheds. I maintain and it's not original thinking that when we do good things for fish and water, we're doing good things for people-water is a human need down to the cellular level.
I have an opinion on that, but it's mal-formed. At least in your region, stakeholders are working together.
These fish don't have the particular set of genetic qualities that their extirpated predecessors had, but perhaps they will develop them over generations of successful returns.
Why would they need them?
Evidence of success comes in ways that you might not realize-like Bald Eagles returning near a stream that I have fished for trout back in the day-never saw one when I fished it in my teens and early 20's. Eags aren't there for trout-they're feasting on salmon spawning and dying that are reaching that part of stream now they removed blockages from the stream and reintroduced the fish-a mated pair raised a baby near the stream last spring and summer.
Bald eagles are sexy. The California Delta Smelt are not. Same restoration of a healthy biome goal. I'm glad your region is healing.
Imagine, too, 10-16 million salmon returning to the Columbia River system-what a food source.
Natives overfish.* The Chinese overfish worse. There aren't very many natives, so native overfishing practices don't matter until they do.
*The Yukon. Canadian natives got fucked by Alaskan natives' overfishing. The Alaskan natives said 'not our problem'; they were overfishing in response to overfishing by the large commercial fishing fleets. The Canadian and US governments stepped in. Large commercial fishing fleets continue to give zero fucks.
Could what worked for the Columbia River work for the Yukon? As a conservationist, how would you resolve an issue where stakeholders don't trust each other and can't trust each other?
