Are salmon endangered worldwide?
No, salmon are not endangered worldwide. For example, most populations in Alaska are healthy. Some populations in the Pacific Northwest are much healthier than others. These healthy populations usually occupy protected habitats such as the Hanford Reach on the Columbia River and streams of Olympic National Park.
Learn more: Questions and Answers about Salmon
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How do salmon know where their home is when they return from the ocean?
How far do salmon travel?
Why do salmon change color and die after they spawn?
How long do salmon usually live?
When can salmon be seen migrating to their spawning area?
Why do salmon eggs come in different colors?
Why are there so few salmon left?
How many species of salmon are there and how large can they get?
Where are salmon most endangered?
What are the differences between endangered, threatened, imperiled, and at-risk species?
Why do animals and plants become endangered?
Water managers explore new strategies to protect fish in California’s Bay Delta
The water in the Delta arrives primarily from the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, supplying water for more than 22 million people. This water source supports California’s trillion-dollar economy—the sixth largest in the world—and its $27 billion agricultural industry.
In Hot Water: Climate Change is Affecting North American Fish
Climate change is already affecting inland fish across North America -- including some fish that are popular with anglers. Scientists are seeing a variety of changes in how inland fish reproduce, grow and where they can live.
Community flood protection may also help endangered salmon to thrive
Building a river setback levee to reduce the risk of flood for a community may also help endangered fish species to thrive, according to the results of a novel computer model reported by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Endangered Salmon Population Monitored with eDNA for First Time
CORVALLIS, Ore. — Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey and Washington State University have discovered that endangered Chinook salmon can be detected accurately from DNA they release into the environment. The results are part of a special issue of the journal Biological Conservation on use of environmental DNA to inform conservation and management of aquatic species.
New Method Monitors Riverbed and Flows to Protect Spawning Salmon
USGS scientists took high-tech sensors typically found in devices such as smart phones and embedded them into a new method to monitor riverbed movements that can help protect spawning habitat for endangered salmon. Developed in cooperation with Seattle Public Utilities for the Cedar River, the new method is published in the Journal of Hydrology.
Wild Atlantic Salmon Found in New York's Salmon River
Scientists recently discovered wild young Atlantic salmon in New York's Salmon River. This is the first time in more than a century that salmon produced naturally in the wild have been found in what was once New York's premier salmon stream. Forty-one wild Atlantic salmon were collected in June and July. All of the salmon were under one year old and ranged in length from about 2 – 2.5 inches.
Animal Wastes or Sewage Contribute to Salmon Migration Barrier in San Joaquin River
Migrating fall-run Chinook salmon can hit a stretch of the San Joaquin River in Central California with oxygen levels so low, the fish are forced to either wait around until conditions improve or to go elsewhere to spawn, thereby negatively affecting their spawning success.
Removal of Obsolete Forest Roads Can Reduce Erosion and Sediment That Impair Salmon-bearing Streams
Removing abandoned forest roads and restoring the natural characteristics of slopes and stream channels in the Redwood National and State Parks in northern California have substantially reduced the delivery of sediment to salmon-bearing streams, according to a research geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey.
Brown bears (Ursus arctos) and Chum (Salmon Oncorhynchus)
Bear predation on salmon can be high in many Alaskan rivers. Brown bears Ursus arctos and Chum Salmon Oncorhynchus keta are managed concurrently in McNeil River State Game Sanctuary by Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game to benefit the salmon, bears, commercial fishers, and provide unparalleled close-up bear viewing and photography opportunities for the public.
...Radio-tagged Kasilof River coho salmon
Radio tagged coho salmon from the Kasilof River in Alaska
Chinook Salmon
Chinook Salmon. Photograph courtesy of Michael Humling, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Chinook Salmon
Chinook Salmon. Photograph courtesy of Michael Humling, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
An Alaskan Sockeye Salmon. USGS photo gallery. BLM photo.
A Spawning Coho Salmon
Coho salmon fins just above water surface. Female coho select breeding sties based on specific characteristics that offer protection and desired habitat for juveniles. Photo courtesy of Steven Clark, BLM
Drano Lake Sockeye Salmon
Adult Sockeye Salmon in Drano Lake, WA on July 15th and 16th 2015.
Young Atlantic Salmon
These two-day old Atlantic salmon were hatched at the USGS Tunison Lab and will eventually be released in Lake Ontario tributaries.
A new, sophisticated fish rearing facility in Cortland, N.Y. will help restore Atlantic salmon, bloater, and lake herring to Lake Ontario, strengthening the local ecosystem and economy.
To restore the population, young Atlantic
...USGS Salmon Disease Research
The U.S. Geological Survey’s Western Fisheries Research Center in Seattle, Washington is a state-of-the-art laboratory operating on the cutting edge of fish science. Work at the lab falls into three broad categories, ecosystem studies, studies of invasive species, and studies of disease in fish. Recent public alarm about the possible discovery of the Infectious Salmon