Salmon

Oregon Seafood Salmon

For Many People, salmon are the most profound and enduring symbol of the Pacific Northwest. To the Northwest’s Native American cultures, the salmon are the very heart of their societies; they mark the turning of the seasons, form a religious focus. To the people who visit the Northwest, the salmon represent unmatched opportunities for fishing and for fish-watching as they make their great migratory runs. The salmon are the economic mainstay of several communities, the opportunity for some of the best fishing in the world right in their “own backyard,” and one of the last living examples of the wild character so cherished by the people of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. Unfortunately, the salmon runs are decreasing.

Over The Past several decades, wild populations of salmon and steelhead throughout the West Coast have declined to dangerously low levels. In 1991, the National Marine Fisheries Service began a series of comprehensive status reviews of salmon and steelhead throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California. National Marine Fisheries Service identified fifty two Evolutionarily Significant Units of West Coast salmon and steelhead. Twenty seven of those Evolutionarily Significant Units have been listed as endangered or threatened species under the ESA. In addition, it is estimated that hundreds of historic populations in this region are now extinct. Businesses from across the country are urging the Obama Administration and Members of Congress to craft a plan that recovers abundant salmon and steelhead populations. This could put thousands of people to work, not to mention it saves taxpayer dollars, and helps build a clean and affordable energy future for everyone involved. In the wake of their third straight legal victory, salmon advocates are calling for the federal government to take a much harder look at dam breaching as a vehicle toward salmon recovery. Thousands of salmon are lost each year due to dams.