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> April 7, 2000:
Hour Two: Fisheries News | If you've made it through a standard biology course, chances are that you've heard about the life cycle of the salmon. Every year, adult salmon fight theri way upriver, working theri way back to the area in which they were born. Somehow, the salmon are able to identify the proper route to find their way home to spawn. |  | In the old days, the system worked pretty well. While some salmon didn't have the strength to fight past downstream currents, and some were captured by hungry bears, fishermen, or other predators, enough always made it back up the rivers to continue the species. In recent years, however, salmon populations have been on the decline in some parts of the country. Scientists have identified overfishing and gneeral habitat degradation as two reasons for the decline. The third reason is problematic, however -- the presence of dams on the rivers that lead to salmon spawning grounds. 
The Chinook Salmon. (Robert Savannah, USFWS) | On the lower Snake River, which is a tributary of the Columbia River and drains land in Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Washington, and Oregon, there are 4 dams. Scientists estiamte that over 80% of juvenile salmon make it through the system of 4 dams and reservoirs, while 88-94% of adult salmon can run the dam gauntlet. Now, the Army Corps of Engineers is studying ways to improve those survival rates. These range from doing nothing, to trucking salmon around the dams in trucks, to knocking the dams down altogether. | The proposal to breach the dams, while welcomed by some, has provoked a good deal of controversy. The dams supply significant amounts of electricity to the area, and water stored behind the dams provides many area farms with irrigation. On this hour, we'll take a look at the proposals currently being examined, and talk about what they mean. Plus -- should swordfish be on the menu? Join guest host John Nielsen for an hour of fisheries news on Science Friday.
Guests:
Doug Arndt
Chief, Fish Management Office
Northwest Division
U.S. Army Corp of Engineers
Portland, Oregon
Carl Safina
Author, "Song for the Blue Ocean" (Henry Holt, 1998)
Contributing Editor, Audubon Magazine
Founder and Director, Living Oceans Program
National Audubon Society
Islip, New York
Anthony Dilernia
Mid Atlantic Fishery Management Council
Office of Marine Education
Kingsborough Community College
Flushing, New York
Books/Articles Discussed: Related Links:
Assessment of Lower Snake River Hydrosystem Alternatives on Survival and Recovery of Snake River Salmonids
NFI -- Swordfish Q&A
Editorial on the Swordfish Consumer Boycott
ICCAT International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas: Fisheries research and management
Northwest Fisheries Science Center
Army Corps of Engineers -- Walla Walla District Home Page
This segment produced by:
Annette Heist
Web producer:
Charles Bergquist |