Dead or dying eggs in a female coho salmon are a possible symptom of environmental stress felt by the fish. In Western Alaska, water levels have been low following a rapid spring snowmelt and low precipitation.
Early snowmelt and low rainfall contributed to low river levels near Nome, affecting the ability of residents to reach usual fishing spots.
Commercial and Subsistence Harvest
"Jakolof Creek is dry almost all the way up to the switchbacks and continues to recede. The early run of red salmon may have made it to the lake, but that is probably the only run that has."
Early snowmelt and low precipitation have led to low river water levels on the southern Seward Peninsula. Low water levels may be a contributing factor in observations of poor fishing, and poor fish health, along the western coast of Alaska.
Drought and high temperatures have dried the creek and caused thousands of pink salmon and Dolly Varden to die before they could spawn. The event raises questions about vulnerability of area salmon streams to climate change, and for local residents food security.
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