Environmental Factors Likely Hurting Yukon River Chinook Salmon

A new study published in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences in December shows that environmental factors likely impact the Yukon River chinook salmon.

That is reported by CBC.

In recent years, Chinook on the Yukon River have seen sharp declines in their run sizes. 2022 and 2023 were the worst and second-worst on record, respectively. 

In particular, researchers found that wetter conditions in the Yukon River watershed could have a devastating effect on juvenile chinook — less than three centimeters of additional rain could result in an average loss of more than 13,000 salmon. 

That's because more rain means higher water flow, which could displace the young fish and disrupt their feeding.

Other environmental factors that researchers found were likely to hurt chinook were increased precipitation during spawning and egg incubation, warmer and longer springs and summers, and increased pink salmon in the ocean.