Threats to Salmon

Threats to Salmon Stocks

Salmon, both farmed and wild, face many dire threats. These are mostly related to things such as land development and pollution, which take away the salmon’s habitat. Areas that are left undevoloped maintain a sponge effect so that soil can soak up large amounts of water. Because the soil is absorbant they also slow down the rate at which storm water runs off. If storm water runs off the bank of the streams too fast, gravel from the stream bed would be swept away, causing valuable nesting grounds to be destroyed. This is only one of the risks to the salmon population.

The smallest change in a salmon's environment can be a matter of life and death. In some parts of the world, such as Taiwan, factors such as storms, earthquakes, and climate changes affect the water levels so much that large quantities of rare salmon lose their habitat. When the water levels are always being disrupted Salmon may also have difficulty breathing due to varying quantities of dissolved oxygen in the water.

In the United States, man-made facilities such as dams that divert water to other areas are responsible for killing many salmon. Some of them are killed in the machinery itself, some are killed when they get carried down dried up side-streams, and still more are killed when they are poisoned by the different chemicals that enter the water as a result of the man-made machinery. Dams make it much harder for fish to swim up stream to their nesting grounds.

Mining and logging can destabilize the area surrounding the banks of rivers causing dirt and debris to be washed into the rivers that help to control the water levels of surrounding lakes. Research indicates that over the course of the past 200 years, 48 United States have lost at least 53 percent of their wetlands. California may have suffered the worst damage, losing a massive 91 percent of all wetlands over a 200 year period.

Run-off pollution kills organisms and insects in the food chain causing salmon to be unable to obtain a proper source of food, hence many of them die. Pollution also kills off salmon eggs, or roe, when they are in their most vulnerable state. The population is at risk of decreasing as a result.

Since salmon are in high demand in some countries, many fishermen see this as an opportunity for economic benefit and go on giant fishing sprees. The result is a vast decrease among the salmon population. Over the years, demand for salmon has gone up, while the population of salmon has steadily gone down. If this growing trend continues, it may not be long before salmon are on the verge of extinction.