Summer river water temperatures in non-glacial streams of the watershed of the Cook Inlet stretch of ocean lined by mountains have increased an average of 0.5 degrees per decade in summer months since 1980, said Sue Mauger, science director of the Cook Inletkeeper group dedicated to protecting the watershed that is an important salmon breeding ground. The average temperature in July was 58.1 degrees (14.5 Celsius), 5.4 degrees (3 Celsius) above the historical average with records maintained since 1925. "It's directly in line with the predictions of what scientists like myself and other colleagues have been warning is likely to occur, and we need to prepare ourselves and not be surprised when it happens again in the future, because it will," he said.Ī warm Alaska June was followed by the hottest month ever recorded in the state. The deaths should not be a surprise because climate models have for years forecast unhealthy Alaska river temperatures for salmon, said Peter Westley, assistant professor of fisheries conservation and fisheries ecology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Some carcasses this summer have been a concern because the dead fish were still full of eggs as they bobbed downstream or washed up on gravel shorelines, with no signs of disease or parasites. Spent carcasses of salmon that die after females lay eggs and males fertilize them are a common annual sight along Alaska streams and provide nourishment for scavenging birds and bears. "If we have a few years in a row like this, then I think we have a bigger issue," he said. But department scientists this year will analyze fish deaths, summarize observation and record effects. The department has not quantified past heat-related fish deaths because they tended to be sporadic and inconsistent, Rabung said. ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Add salmon to the list of species affected by Alaska's blistering summer temperatures, including the hottest July on record.ĭead salmon have shown up in river systems throughout Alaska, and the mortalities are probably connected to warm water or low river water levels, said Sam Rabung, director of commercial fisheries for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
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