Scientists unsure what unusually warm Gulf of Alaska waters means for salmon returns
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Washington Post ] By Elahe Izadi - September 16, 2014 -
Something odd is happening in Northern Pacific waters: They’re heating up. In fact, it hasn’t been this warm in parts of the Gulf of Alaska for this long since researchers began tracking surface water temperatures in the 1980s, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The warming began last year in the Gulf of Alaska and has since been dubbed “The Blob” by Nick Bond, of the Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean.
But it’s still an open question as to how these warmer waters will affect salmon populations. Nate Mantua, a NOAA research scientist, isn’t convinced that “The Blob” means loads of dead fish. He points to past warm years that resulted in high salmon returns. “It’s unsettled whether this is bad news” for salmon, he said. “We have to wait until the adults come back, and we’ll have to see.”
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