http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/08/kamchatka-salmon/quammen-text
Kamchatka Salmon live along the coasts of the Kamchatka Peninsula. They are an important economic resource for the remote area of Russia. Due to the prime aquatic conditions for these fish, several different types of Salmon species have thrived along these water for decades. The National Geographic article states that "nearly 20% of all Pacific Salmon species exist in these waters." Ironically, the fish only survive long enough to make the journey to their birth sites, mate, and then die. Yet the population seemed to balanced itself as the frigid waters are high in dissolved oxygen...that is until people began to take a share in the fishes prosperity. As a result of this abundance massive, illegal quantities of fish have been taken from the sea for caviar, fish oil, and food. The people have acknowledged that the salmon are a vital resource for their economy yet little has been done to stop these abuses. Fish inspectors have been monitoring the coasts of the Peninsula however there are not enough of them to keep these abuses from affecting the Salmon populations. The picture galleries showed the bears and people that depend on the Salmon for their way of life.
The overfishing of salmon is very new to me. I thought since there are so many in the Pacific that there was not a limit. This is damaging to the people because of the recent health reports. Salmon has a great amount of omega-3's so it is a valued fish. The fact that people are now illegally fishing for the important fish is scary because they might deplete at an exponential level if they are not protected.
ReplyDelete---Lexie Redd