Swim Away from Climate Change
How climate change affects freshwater and saltwater salmon
By Jaime Keenan, Kaitlin Campbell, Amber Kirkpatrick, and Carly Faber
Freshwater and Saltwater Fish
There are many things that are going wrong with the oceans salmon because of climate change. For one the climate changes are changing the population of many of the salmon. The fishing industry is wiping out the decreasing population of salmon. Another thing going wrong beacuse of the drastic climate change is the food sources of many of the fish. Also the climate change is affecting other species thats food source is the salmon. These problems are affecting many different species in the ocean.
Fishing Industry is Wiping Out Fish Population
The fishing industry has been one of the reasons why the salmon population is decreasing. When the fishermen are out in the ocean or down by the river, they are catching fish and not realizing they are catching too many fish. They are decreasing salmon and fish population. In 2009 British Colombia, the center of Canadas fishing industry, had the lowest abundanceof sockeye salmon on record for the last 5 years.
Salmon's Food Source is Depleting
Rising temperaturein the Pacific Ocean are beginning to attract another species of salmon called the Pink Salmon. This may seem good to us, but for the sockeye Salmon its not so great. As the amount of salmon increases there is more competition and as these salmon continue to eat their source of food, in his case zooplankton, the population will decrease. This leaves the salmon struggling to find mor food which could lead to the salmon population.
Salmon as a Food Source
Salmon are known as the "keystone" species. They act as the food source for many animals. For examlple seals, whales, otters, bears, and birds. The decomposing carcass of the dead salmon provides nutrients for trees and fertilizer. So as you can imagine without salmon these things would not survive.