Fraser River Sockeye Salmon An Analytical Literature Review

Fraser River Sockeye Salmon in Decline: An Analytical Literature Review Lauren M. Howell 26095133 University of British Columbia Author Note Lauren M. Howell, Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph Lauren M. Howell, Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Lauren Howell, Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4 Contact: Lauren@adbizstudio.com Fraser River Sockeye Salmon in Decline: An Analytical Literature Review The Fraser River, beginning at Fraser Pass in the Rocky Mountains; making its way into the Straight of Georgia in Vancouver, is considered to be the largest†¦show more content†¦The replacement level, described as the ratio of returning progeny per adult spawner, was not reached and the industry was forced to close for a third consecutive year. This shut out was attributed to a wide range of factors including: environmental changes along the river and in the marine environment, as well as fisheries management practices. Incredibly, 2010 saw a profound rebound with an estimated 34 million returns, indicating resilience of this species but also giving rise to many unanswered questions in explanation (Cohen, 2010). Even though fish harvesting had declined, fish stocks were still plummeting; people wanted answers, and in 2009, a Canadian federal judicial inquiry was launched to investigate fisheries management practices, as carried out by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) by means of the Cohen Commission (Casselman, 2011; Miller et al., 2011). The focus of the mandate was to identify the causes of the decline in the Fraser River sockeye, and to develop recommendations for improving the future sustainability of the fishery. Since the seminal release of Dr. Pearse’s 1982 study of Canada’s Pacific fishery, hundreds of recommendations through mandates, as well as scientific research, have been put forth with the goal of shedding light on this paramount issue. A study published in Science carried out by Kristina M. Miller et al. in 2011 is no exception. A Quick Look at the Research A functional genomics study conducted by Miller