Salmon lesson

Salmon lesson

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
Josh Mills gives me a lesson in Salmon. Here's the funny thing. Did you know, the salmon and steelhead down migrate backwards. So they face upstream on their migration, the juveniles on their way out to sea. They swim backwards. They just kind of butt their way down the entire system. So a journey that used to take upwards of a week now takes a month and a half or more, depending on water temperatures. And then they're just plucked off one by one by these enhanced predator situations. I just think they are the most resilient species. We have done everything to try and screw them up and give them a crap chance. And then you look and you go, they're still there. They're still fighting against it. I mean, water temperatures in the 70s right now and they're still pushing upstream. That drive to replace themselves is endless. And if we just get out of their stinking way! You look at also the economic impact of fishing and stuff like that. There's a place at the end of the road where the Grand Ronde jumps into the Snake. It's called Hellebore, very famous place for salmon and steelhead, really big for steelhead fishing. And you want to know about what the economics of the sport fishery could be on a good year. You go on a good year. That big, massive parking lot in the bend, is loaded with hundreds and thousands of dollars of boats and trailers, campers and all the things that are associated with a good fishery. And you talk about economic impact. It's incredible. If only we could start all over again.
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