Seattle Times: Northwest Steelhead In Crisis

The salmonids are one of the most cherished and historically important family of fish in the Pacific Northwest.

To many, they represent the Northwest more than the forests and mountains.

To the Northwest native peoples they were important both as an annual source of food as well as being a part of their spiritual practices for the reverence of the cycles of the seasons.

Most people are familiar with the salmon members of the family served in restaurants  –   primarily Chinook (King), Coho (Silver), and Sockeye. (the other two: Pinks and Chum salmon wind up more frequently smoked than grilled or baked).

Many Northwest fishers – both fly and gear – head out on boats and along beaches hoping to catch a clipped hatchery fish (wild salmon typically must be released to sustain the population) that end up in late summer and early autumn grilled dinners.

But there is another salmonid – less known away from the Northwest waters – that is even more revered by all who know it – and that is the steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss). It is a migratory rainbow trout that is anadromous, like a salmon, meaning it returns from the ocean to spawn in fresh water.

Unlike the salmon, that returns only once from the ocean before spawning and dying in its natal stream, steelhead make several trips out and back over their lives.

They are a powerful fish who can jump and run – pulling hundreds of yards of line backing off a reel for those lucky enough to hook one – with much justification they are called the fish of a thousand casts (to hook even one).

And now, particularly on the Olympic Peninsula their populations are collapsing. Climate change; dams on major migratory rivers; the impact of hatcheries on the genetic pools; and overfishing – all have put steelhead at risk.

Whether they can be restored is an open question; whether they can even survive is a more profound one.

The Seattle Times has an extensive article on the plight and issues associated with the decline of the steelhead.

 

Author: Tom

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