Salmon being wiped out by Fukushima radiation? (power lines, buyers)

[CAjerseychick]

what do you guys think? Its been pretty quiet on the news outlets re: the aftermath and sequelae of the Fukushima meltdown although intuitively there has to be continuing consequences--

heres the article--

Hundreds Of Millions Of Salmon Feared Dead On US West Coast - Your News Wire

[Larry Caldwell]

I'm not even going to bother reading such a crap headline. There are not 100 million Pacific salmon left in the world. The remaining runs are counted in thousands.

However, there is real news.

In first, government and Tepco found liable for Fukushima disaster | The Japan Times

[Metlakatla]

Not this again. As I told you when you asked in the Alaska forum, there hasn't been much radiation detected, and dead fish aren't washing up on shore. But if you're afraid of it, don't eat it. There are plenty of people who will.

There are, however, millions of Pacific salmon left out there. Bristol Bay's total catch this year was over 30 million. Southeast Alaska's where my seafood processing plant is located, had 160 million. I don't know about Oregon, maybe they're in the thousands, but they've been having problems for decades, mostly because they fished it out.

Unlike Larry, I clicked on the article. It pulls together some news from other outlets and draws an unsubstantiated conclusion.

Juneau Empire: Spring king fishing canceled by emergency order… the Juneau area will be closed for king salmon fishing…

This isn't uncommon and has nothing to do with Japan.

Honestly, I wouldn't blame anyone for being wary of Pacific seafood because of the nuclear reactor, but at least seek out real sources.


Here's what Snopes has to say about it:

http://www.snopes.com/radioactive-salmon-fukushima/

Some real news from about a year ago:

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/stor...ores/95045692/

[Metlakatla]

BTW, the site the OP linked to has made the major lists of fake news/conspiracy sites.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Salmon are being wiped out by thousands of sea lions, living at the mouth pf the Columbia and of every other river and bay in Oregon. Thousands of sea lions each eating 100 pounds of salmon every day.

[StealthRabbit]

Sensational news(?)

the sky is not falling.

I grew up in a USA state that has very high Uranium content in the soil, more exposure than Nuclear accidents on surrounding areas. I also grew up under power lines and weaned on the sooty smokestack of a diesel tractor.

I'm toast, (someday) but the salmon will be fine!

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by CAjerseychick

Its been pretty quiet on the news outlets re: the aftermath

You made the same statement in the Alaska forum. There really isn't much news to report; they aren't finding any alarming levels of radiation.

Here's what an independent, nonprofit organization (with real scientific credentials, unlike the author of that ridiculous article) that's monitoring the situation says about it.

FAQ: Radiation from Fukushima : Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Pink salmon runs are down in certain parts of Alaska; deep sea trawlers in international waters are the likely culprit.

[Larry Caldwell]

https://lostcoastoutpost.com/2017/ma...isheries-coll/

[StealthRabbit]

I'm on the river a lot, and work with Indian Fisheries, so I will report on the dead /disfigured (nuked) salmon that show up.

(I am upstream (AFTER) the sea Lion FEAST, so little I can project from the appetite of those hungry monsters)

Been a great last 3 yrs, so I would not be at all surprised to see some decline for a few yrs. (my freezer is still full, but I prefer Steelhead to Salmon) Those are JUNK fish to commercial buyers!!! Yippe, more fun for anglers and better feasting for PEOPLE!

Enjoying smoked steelhead chowder tonight. It won't be my 'last 'sea-going' river fish meal'

[Metlakatla]

Oregon certainly has salmon problems, but I'm pretty sure they predate 2011. In Alaska, we count our salmon runs using millions, and I think that's largely because the state does a really good job managing that particular resource...it was actually written into the Alaska State Constitution that overfishing and other harmful activities not be allowed to ruin the salmon runs.

That said, there's something happening out there in the deep waters where the salmon mature that's affecting their numbers. As I stated before, the most likely cause is bottom trawling in international waters.