due to low numbers. not good. King salmon stocks in Alaska have plummeted so much that unless they are hatchery kings, you are not allowed to even fish for them. Sockeye(reds) are having an average year after a real big year last year. We did get our limits (3 each) both days we have driven down to the Kenai this week but we had to work hard for them. Not a lot of limits being caught right now. We did get several very large sockeye in the 8 - 10 lb class. A Crucial Moment: Norway Restricts Salmon Fishing (msn.com) In a move aimed at protecting dwindling salmon populations, Norway will halt fishing activities in 33 rivers and along the coastline from the Swedish border in the south to Trøndelag in the north starting Sunday. The decision, announced by the Norwegian Environment Agency to NRK, comes amidst reports of significantly low salmon counts this year. ............................................................................................ He acknowledged the tragic circumstances but affirmed the importance of proactive measures to preserve the salmon population. Mugaas also highlighted the substantial economic impact of salmon fishing, which generates approximately 1.3 billion Norwegian kroner over the course of three months, underscoring the widespread financial implications of the closures for fishing communities.
Hard too pinpoint whether its a few outliers or some kind of broader issue but the snow crab decimation in Alaska and the Salmon issue should be a warning to climate deniers.
I probably told you this before but I commercial fished salmon on the Kenai penninusla in the Cook inlet on the east coast when I was 21. Obviously not the same as what you're doing but we did bag a 93lb king salmon in a set net. That was quite the summer and such a beautiful place.
the chinook collapse has all king setnetting shut down. That is one reason the sockeye run has been good the last couple of years. That isn't holding true this year as much but 2020 and 2021 weren't strong runs and that is the run that is returning right now. Fish Counts - Sport Fish - ADF&G (alaska.gov)
I'll post these here unless a mod tells me to move them to the pub. A few pics/videos from our trip so far. Hatcher Pass, by Wasilla. Favorite local hiking area. Lost my dji 3 up there today flying too close to the rock slides. Collision avoidance was tuned on but apparently not working. Got the GPS coordinates of last known position so I have a real life geocaching challenge tomorrow amongst a giant boulder scramble high up in these hills. Have flyaway replacement insurance but I really want the battery and sim card along with the UV filter add on if I can find it and I don't want to pollute the mountain if I can avoid it. Although there are lot of old mining remnants up in the hills. really surprised they last that long in these conditions DJI_0582 by bluewaterfever, on Flickr lots of beaver dams in this valley 20240614_175040 by bluewaterfever, on Flickr DJI_0579 by bluewaterfever, on Flickr 20240614_170944 by bluewaterfever, on Flickr
see if this video will play. let me know if this works or takes too much time. all of these are saved down in resolution. the 5k stuff from the dji3 is almost cinematic in quality on a quality screen Untitled video - Made with Clipchamp1 by bluewaterfever, on Flickr
Russian River confluence with the Kenai River. Russian is pure snow melt, clear water from a big lake uphill that the sockeye go to spawn in. Sockeye (red) spawn in lakes and are filter feeders, Humpys(pinks), chinook (kings) and coho (silvers) all spawn in creek beds and are carnivorous, Last one is a video of the rea known as the sanctuary, off limits to fishing until the escapement goal is met. ie min of 22k sockeye past the upstream weir headed to the lake DJI_0678 by bluewaterfever, on Flickr DJI_0673 by bluewaterfever, on Flickr DJI_0670 by bluewaterfever, on Flickr
It's not the bears. We are on a 24 day Scandinavian cruise and land tour. We spent the last two days on the impressive Norwegian rail system to travel 4-5 hours norh That might be a problem in Alaska. You don't see that in Norway. We are on a 24 day Scandinavian cruise and land tour and just returned from two days on the impressive Norwegian rail system traveling north to see the Fjords. We saw so much water alongside the railroad, rivers and lakes. Not a single fisherman or bear. My wife said did you notice there wasn't a single fisherman or boat out on those lakes. Now I know why. Maybe the bears got the message about closing the fisheries down as well but the only evidence of wildlife we saw was an unlucky moose who was killed crossing the train tracks. Their license plates begin with E if the car is electric and our tour guide says 90% of new cars (not trucks) are electric. They are green crazy here but I see why they care so deeply about saving their beautiful part of planet earth. Gasoline is almost $8 a gallon ($2.14 a liter) so I don't know that they need tax incentives to get their citizens to buy the tiny electric cars we saw everywhere. 88% of their electricity comes from hydropower, they have tons of these small dams. But I think they must have a propaganda training program for their tour guides who are constantly preaching global warming and what we "all" need to do to save the planet.
We noticed an overall lack of biomass, ie birds, fish, animals, etc in Norway. Only spent 5 days there but went to some fairly remote areas and not even many birds
here is a nice size school of sockeye in the protected area of the Russian/Kenai confluence. click to play the video. That black mass in the center left of the frame is a mass of fish, ones that made it past the bears, eagles, nets, hooks, etc russian sockeye by bluewaterfever, on Flickr
Alaskan (Bearing Sea) Crab Stocks Salmon Tuna (Everywhere) Cod With a Human population of 8 Billion and ever expanding, one has to wonder when Ocean stocks reach tipping points? And it's not just about depleting stocks. I just watched a program about how changing underwater eco systems, when effected, deplete stocks. I just saw how Norway is having problems with Crabs destroying some ecosystems because the environment is changing related to temperature fluctuations, effecting other plant and aquatic life. Aquatic life is very interconnected, when one thing goes out of kilter, many negative things often follow.
