Salmon Decline

Salmon as a Source of Food is on the Decline

Introduction

The global population will reach the nine billion mark by the year 2050. The technical experts, researchers, and leaders around the world work towards food security for this population. The fish, though unappreciated can play a significant role in satisfying the middle-income population around the world and meet food security in developing countries. The fish population represents about 16 percent of the available animal protein in the world. The world’s food basket proportion will increase as consumers’ income improves, hence the demand for valuable seafood. Aquaculture has experienced dramatic growth over the last decade to meet the rising demand for fish. Aquaculture keeps prices

The other species in the family may refer to Trout and include seawater trout and brown trout. The salmon species are available in farmed and wild sources, but Atlantic salmon is commercially reared. The salmon lives in the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean as well as Great Lakes in northern America and other land locked lakes. Salmon fish have anadromous characteristics; they are hatched in fresh water, move to the ocean before returning to the freshwater to reproduce. Farmers produce about 70% of salmon fish consumed around the world (Schwartz 1). Commercial farming occurs in sheltered waters and withlarge nets such as Bays and Fjords. Norway, Chile, Canada, and Scotland are world leading salmon

Additionally, global climatic change and natural disasters are significant contributors to the salmon decline. Many centuries ago, the Native Americans living along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts built their societies revolving around salmon. The salmon became part of their religion, commercial and means of survival. Advancement in technology after civilization, the salmon fishing increased. Fishermen spread across North America harvesting salmon from fertile river valleys. Fishing became important business due to an array of advanced fishing techniques (Schwartz 1). The fishers and commercial firms utilized large nets in estuaries and rivers. A fish wheel powered by currents of the river scoped salmon from the water into the boats. The massive building of dams in early 20th century ended salmon runs. Today, only one percent of the wild salmon fish return to rivers to spawn. In the oceans, decreased salmon stocks are due to harvesting, habitat loss, hydropower dams, and