For the first time ever, salmon fishing in the
Pacific Ocean has been banned. The prohibition, imposed by a
federal panel, applies to waters off Washington, Oregon and
California, though not to Alaska or British Columbia. “The
combination of effects has created a natural disaster,” says Robert
Turner, director of fisheries for the state of Washington. The
“effects’ are mostly caused by humans, though unusual weather
patterns over the Pacific are also to blame. On shore, logging,
agricultural use and dams have drastically altered salmon habitat.
The populations of coho and chinook salmon have been declining for
more than a decade in almost all coastal rivers, although some
systems such as the Columbia River have seen fish counts decline
for decades. The salmon’s decline in the Columbia coincided with
the construction of dams. Already hard hit by layoffs in the timber
industry, the season closure is already spawning predictions of
economic disaster for many coastal towns. The Pacific Fishery
Management Council, an arm of the U.S. Department of Commerce,
ordered the closure at a meeting March 11 in Portland,
Ore.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Salmon fishing banned.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
