What You Should Know About Pacific Salmon – Dr. Richard Beamish

Pacific salmon abundances in the North Pacific are the largest in recorded history. Russia had the largest catch of salmon in the history of their fishery in 2018. However, the abundance of salmon is not increasing in British Columbia. There were fishing closures for Chinook salmon this summer and sockeye returns to the Fraser River this year were the worst ever. It is likely that common mechanisms explain what is going on. A coordinated international effort is the best way to identify the mechanisms that need to be discovered for effective stewardship of Pacific salmon in a future of rapidly changing ecosystems.

Dr. Beamish is an Emeritus Scientist at the Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo. He has received numerous awards for his research, locally and internationally. He has authored or co-authored numerous papers on the effects of climate on fish populations and is a  contributor and co-editor of “The Sea Among Us – The Amazing Strait of Georgia”.