Post by Admin on Aug 28, 2022 21:47:39 GMT
EPA Chinook Salmon trend
Updated June 2021 based on data available through December 2017.
Sustainable Perspectives
First foods ceremonies are one way Coast Salish communities celebrate respect for the earth. In spring, families celebrate the first Chinook salmon caught with First Salmon ceremonies called Thehitem ("looking after the fish.") At the end of the ceremonies the bones of the salmon are returned to the river with a prayer giving thanks to the Creator, Chíchelh Siyá:m, and the salmon people. This is to show that the salmon were well-treated and welcome the following year.
Traditional Names for Chinook Salmon
Blackmouth (USA)
K'with'thet (Salish)
K'wolexw (Salish)
King salmon (USA, Canada)
Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Latin)
Sa aeup (Nuuchahnulth)
Sa-cin (Nuuchahnulth)
Schaanexw (Salish)
Shamet skelex (Salish)
Shmexwalsh (Salish)
Sinaech (Salish)
Sk'wel'eng's schaanexw (Salish)
Slhop' schaanexw (Salish)
Spak'ws schaanexw (Salish)
Spring salmon (USA, Canada, Australia)
St'thokwi (Salish)
Su-ha (Nuuchahnulth)
Tyee salmon (Canada, USA)
What's Happening?
Just over 473,000 adult Chinook salmon were estimated by the Pacific Salmon Commission to have passed through the Salish Sea in 2018 (see charts below). This is a 60% reduction in Chinook salmon abundance since the Commission began tracking salmon data in 1984. The current estimate does not include the effect of predators or other sources of Chinook mortality before spawning, so it may overestimate the spawning population size.
Between 2000 and 2018, the total number of Chinook returning to the Salish Sea has shown a relatively stable trend. During this time period, the technical reports also show a small increase in catch and a small decrease in returning spawners, particularly over the last few reporting years.
There has been inter-annual variability in population size since tracking Chinook populations began. Currently for most stocks of Salish Sea Chinook salmon that are monitored by the Pacific Salmon Commission, about the same number of fish return each year to spawn. A few individual stocks have shown recent changes in spawning fish returns, with some stocks showing increases in returning spawner numbers while other stocks have decreasing numbers of returning fish. Research completed in 2018 has suggested that the average age and size of returning Chinook salmon is changing too, with fish maturing and spawning at younger ages. The largest-sized Chinook salmon are less common now compared to 40 years ago.
Taken together, all the monitoring data suggest that no improvement in the overall trend of Chinook salmon abundance has happened since 1999, when Puget Sound Chinook salmon were listed as a threatened species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
Puget Sound Chinook salmon have not improved according to the 2020 Puget Sound Vital Signs indicator chart for Chinook salmon WEBSITE.
Updated June 2021 based on data available through December 2017.
Sustainable Perspectives
First foods ceremonies are one way Coast Salish communities celebrate respect for the earth. In spring, families celebrate the first Chinook salmon caught with First Salmon ceremonies called Thehitem ("looking after the fish.") At the end of the ceremonies the bones of the salmon are returned to the river with a prayer giving thanks to the Creator, Chíchelh Siyá:m, and the salmon people. This is to show that the salmon were well-treated and welcome the following year.
Traditional Names for Chinook Salmon
Blackmouth (USA)
K'with'thet (Salish)
K'wolexw (Salish)
King salmon (USA, Canada)
Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Latin)
Sa aeup (Nuuchahnulth)
Sa-cin (Nuuchahnulth)
Schaanexw (Salish)
Shamet skelex (Salish)
Shmexwalsh (Salish)
Sinaech (Salish)
Sk'wel'eng's schaanexw (Salish)
Slhop' schaanexw (Salish)
Spak'ws schaanexw (Salish)
Spring salmon (USA, Canada, Australia)
St'thokwi (Salish)
Su-ha (Nuuchahnulth)
Tyee salmon (Canada, USA)
What's Happening?
Just over 473,000 adult Chinook salmon were estimated by the Pacific Salmon Commission to have passed through the Salish Sea in 2018 (see charts below). This is a 60% reduction in Chinook salmon abundance since the Commission began tracking salmon data in 1984. The current estimate does not include the effect of predators or other sources of Chinook mortality before spawning, so it may overestimate the spawning population size.
Between 2000 and 2018, the total number of Chinook returning to the Salish Sea has shown a relatively stable trend. During this time period, the technical reports also show a small increase in catch and a small decrease in returning spawners, particularly over the last few reporting years.
There has been inter-annual variability in population size since tracking Chinook populations began. Currently for most stocks of Salish Sea Chinook salmon that are monitored by the Pacific Salmon Commission, about the same number of fish return each year to spawn. A few individual stocks have shown recent changes in spawning fish returns, with some stocks showing increases in returning spawner numbers while other stocks have decreasing numbers of returning fish. Research completed in 2018 has suggested that the average age and size of returning Chinook salmon is changing too, with fish maturing and spawning at younger ages. The largest-sized Chinook salmon are less common now compared to 40 years ago.
Taken together, all the monitoring data suggest that no improvement in the overall trend of Chinook salmon abundance has happened since 1999, when Puget Sound Chinook salmon were listed as a threatened species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
Puget Sound Chinook salmon have not improved according to the 2020 Puget Sound Vital Signs indicator chart for Chinook salmon WEBSITE.