Threats to Salmon

Because salmon depend on different ecosystems for survival, they are also very sensitive to changes in their environment. Since 1950, about 95 percent of California’s wild salmon population has disappeared. A few of the human influences that affect salmon include:

• Dams, which prevent salmon from reaching their native spawning grounds. There is only one undammed river, the Consumnes River, in the San Francisco Bay watershed.
• Pesticides, used by farmers in the Central Valley, have polluted salmon habitat and food sources.
• Logging near streams, which removes the shade needed to keep the water cool enough to support tiny salmon.
• Fish farms, which disrupt the natural cycle of salmon reproduction by bringing larger, non-native farmed fish into wild populations. Diseases among farmed fish can also kill wild fish.
• Fresh water diversion to support agriculture has resulted in decreasing natural water flows, making it impossible for adult salmon to reach spawning grounds and difficult for young salmon to make it to the Bay.
• Erosion caused by road construction and logging, which causes rivers to fill up with silt. Salmon eggs require clear, silt-free water to hatch.
• Overfishing by humans has reduced the population and made it difficult for salmon to sustain their numbers.

You Can Protect Salmon
With the help of scientists, we are beginning to understand the important role salmon play in the ecosystem. New laws have been passed that protect the trees along salmon streams from being logged, keeping the water running cool and clear. We started to build fish ladders, which help spawning salmon swim around dams to their native spawning grounds. Many citizen volunteers and organizations like Save The Bay are working to restore salmon habitat.

Government agencies, farmers, and environmental organizations are working together to regulate better the type and amount of pesticides we use on our crops, and we are changing the way we divert fresh water in order to recreate natural flows that are better for the fish.

Finally, many individuals are making a statement by choosing to purchase wild salmon instead of farmed salmon at the store. By purchasing wild salmon, and limiting how much of it they eat, people are voicing their support for wild fish. Hopefully, this support will encourage our government and our elected leaders to protect wild salmon habitat and promote the health and well-being of this fascinating fish, and the tasty sustenance it provides.