Washington State has a water problem. It's a warm water problem. A report in The Seattle Times says warmer Pacific waters off Washington are diverting salmon runs to Canada.
Unusually warm water off the Washington coast is sending the vast majority of the sockeye-salmon run to Canadian waters, leaving Puget Sound fishermen with nearly empty nets.
According to data from the Pacific Salmon Commission, nearly 2.9 million sockeye have been caught in Canadian waters, while only about 98,000 have been netted in Washington through Aug. 19.
That means 99 percent of sockeye have gone through the Johnstone Strait around the northern part of Vancouver Island into Canadian waters.
During a typical sockeye-salmon run, about 50 percent of the run goes around the south end of Vancouver Island through the Strait of Juan de Fuca, putting them in U.S. waters, The Bellingham Herald reported.
This year's Fraser River run has been spectacular for B.C. commercial and sports fisherman.
Johnstone Strait Orca for the win.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it'll be a glut for the residents this year. For almost a decade this run has gone straight down the west side of Van Isl, which sent them into U.S. waters as they turned the south end to cut back up to the Fraser. This year we're seeing a return to the old days with large numbers coming down the east side of the island. It's great to see the sport fishing boats out on the Salish Sea again.
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