Salmon Otoliths Show Dependence on Bristol Bay Watershed

Results from a new study examining data from sockeye and chinook otoliths show that the salmon and the fisheries they support depend on the entire watershed of the Bristol Bay region. “The study coincides with renewed efforts to gain permits for the Pebble Mine, a proposed copper and gold excavation near the headwaters of the Nushagak River. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ draft environmental analysis considered only two or three years of fish counts in specific locations in proximity to the proposed mine. But the new study shows that salmon habitat shifts year to year, and how productive one area is for a short period might not represent its overall value to the fish population or larger ecosystem.” Via Sit News.