1st Chinook salmon of year cross to Canadian side of Yukon River
Alaskan biologist says forecasts call for weak run overall this year
Biologists are watching closely as the first Chinook salmon of the season make their way up the Yukon River from Alaska to Canada.
The first Chinook salmon crossed the U.S.-Canada border at Eagle, Alaska, about a week ago. The latest count from the Eagle sonar station shows just over 2,500 fish have passed through into Yukon.
Stephanie Schmidt, a biologist with Alaska Fish and Game, says everything about this year's run is unusual, including the fact that the headwaters of the Yukon River are unseasonably warm.
In June, monitors recorded a temperature of 20 C.
"That is incredibly warm for June," Schmidt said. "You'll see those temperatures maybe at the end of July, beginning of August, but not in June. Even walking out to the river now and putting my hand in the water on our dock it almost feels like you could take a bath in the river it is so warm."
Schmidt says Canadian-bound Chinook salmon usually account for up to 70 per cent of the early run. But she says this year genetic tests show that only 42 per cent are headed for Yukon waters.
"That was really unexpected," she said. "We have not seen that trend in the eight years that we've been doing these genetics."
Schmidt says Alaskan scientists are doing everything they can to ensure the maximum number of fish reach their Yukon spawning grounds but she said that overall, expectations are low this year.