Most people would be hard-pressed to tell the difference between Chinook and coho salmon or even between young and old fish. But not the denizens of the Columbia River Basin (particularly in Washington State, Oregon and Idaho): they not only know their salmon, but their ability to distinguish between species is key to preserving the fast-disappearing fish.

Salmon, once plentiful in the Columbia River, are now a dying breed—a situation that threatens not only their existence but the livelihood of folks inhabiting the mighty river's shores: The commercial fishing industry employs more than 3,600 people and generates more than $100 million annually in Idaho, Oregon and Washington alone, according to a 2005 report by the Northwest Power and Conservation Council in Portland, Ore. Salmon are also an important part of Native American tribal ceremonies.

But overfishing, hydroelectric dams and development (leading to habitat destruction) have taken a toll on the coveted fish in the Columbia, where its annual migrating population has plummeted by as much as 90 percent since its peak in the 19th century—when it is estimated to have been as bountiful as 20 million—to numbers as low as a few million in some areas. Construction of hydroelectric dams along the Columbia and its tributaries beginning in the early 1900's boosted power production but also winnowed the salmon population to about 3 percent of the levels they were when Lewis and Clark journeyed through the area more than 200 years ago.

In an attempt to reverse the decline, local Native American tribes comprising the Nez Perce, Umatilla, Warm Springs Reservation and Yakama in 1977 established the Celilo Fish Committee, which has since been expanded and renamed the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC).

Over the past decade, the CRITFC has used genetic analysis to study local fish populations, which includes Chinook, sockeye and coho salmon. The goal, says Shawn Narum, CRITFC's lead geneticist, is to help increase the salmon population by pinpointing the breeds at risk and working (alongside local fish hatcheries) to replenish the most needy ones. "As [human] impacts to natural populations steadily increase, a better understanding of the rate and level of species' adaptability [is] necessary," he says.

CRITFC includes about 60 geneticists, hydrologists, fish biologists, biometricians, meteorologists and other scientists (plus a support staff of about 500 people) dedicated to studying salmon and their ecosystem. Determining the genetic variations in (and developing genetic signatures for) Columbia River Basin salmon populations helps the researchers better understand the fish's diversity, adaptation and dispersion. These genetic signatures may also be used to identify when previously unknown salmon species migrate to the area.

4 Comments

1. 1. guner_darici 05:57 PM 1/16/09

   great job

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2. 2. sww 10:39 PM 1/16/09

   It's because the dam, pollutions and the fish farms (sea lice problem just google it). To solve it first remove the fish farms, the dam and then stop all or most of the pollutions. Can we do it? Most probably not so good bye salmon. so long.

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3. 3. avraamjack 12:29 PM 1/18/09

   Fish stocks could be exponentially increased by a 5 year ban on commercial fishing.
   
   The ban would roll around the globe. First the Pacific, then the Indian Ocean and finally the Atlantic.
   
   The 5 years lost every 15 years would be compensated by a doubling of the catch for 10 years.

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4. 4. Nathaniel 02:59 PM 1/18/09

   The problem is caused by the dams and overfishing... so the solution is to spend a ton of money researching fish DNA in order to help out one of three species by releasing farm-raised fish of that variety into the wild? What the heck are these people smoking?
   
   The solution is simple, remove the cause of the problem. Duh!
   Either figure out how to get the dams to not negatively impact the fish or decide which is more important: fish or power. Then impose limits on the number of fish that can be caught, or as avraamjack suggests, every 15 years, put a ban on commercial fishing. The added benefit of this would be that the price of the fish will go up, because it will be a rarer commodity. That'll help the industry plenty.
   
   Not every problem can be solved by throwing money at it. Just use some common sense. All those little gray cells are there for a reason.

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