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The economics–ecology nexus
Published in Peter N. Nemetz, Unsustainable World, 2022
The third example is also related to a commercial fishery with significant economic benefits: the Pacific salmon, whose range extends from California in the south to Alaska in the north. Considered a keystone species, the salmon play an essential role in the maintenance of a thriving ecosystem. Salmon of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska are under increased stress from global warming as they require relatively cool water temperatures in which to reproduce and thrive. The loss of this apex species would have a cascading and detrimental effect on a large array of mammals, insects, and plants that rely on its central ecological role (Cederholm et al. 2000). Included among these are many creatures from which humans gain tangible economic benefits from hunting or tourism, including the grizzly and black bear, bald eagle, Caspian tern, coon merganser, harlequin duck, killer whale, and osprey, as well as 129 other mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians.
Nature's Rights through Lawmaking in the United States
Published in Cameron La Follette, Chris Maser, Sustainability and the Rights of Nature in Practice, 2019
Lindsey Schromen-Wawrin, Michelle Amelia Newman
Washington State's governor issued an Executive Order on March 14, 2018, which summarised the threats to the Southern Resident Killer Whales:WHEREAS, three primary factors threaten Southern Resident populations: (1) prey availability, (2) legacy and new toxic contaminants, and (3) disturbance from noise and vessel traffic. The health of Southern Residents and Chinook salmon are tightly linked. Recent scientific studies indicate that reduced Chinook salmon runs undermine the potential for the Southern Resident population to successfully reproduce and recover. Both Southern Residents and Chinook salmon populations are adversely impacted by warming oceans and ocean acidification due to climate change. Presence of contaminants and accumulation of pollutants in Washington's waters are also linked to the decline of Southern Residents. Key sources of contamination in storm water runoff remain to be addressed and the potential for a catastrophic oil spill continues to threaten Southern Residents and the entire ecosystem of Puget Sound. In addition, increased boat and ship traffic has caused greater underwater noise that interferes with Southern Resident critical feeding and communication.69
Swimming in a slurry of schemes: Making sense of aquaculture standards and certification schemes
Published in Stein Haugen, Anne Barros, Coen van Gulijk, Trond Kongsvik, Jan Erik Vinnem, Safety and Reliability – Safe Societies in a Changing World, 2018
M. Nilsen, V.S. Amundsen, M.S. Olsen
The growth of aquaculture production plays an important part in international trade and has helped the economy in many developing countries (Prein and Scholz 2014). However, this growth does not come without negative consequences to people or the environment. The “blue revolution” calls for problems to be addressed, such as water pollution, ecosystem degradation, and poor labor conditions. The rapid growth of the salmon farming industry has in many countries raised public concern and critique from stakeholders and politicians regarding social, economic, and environmental impacts. The concerns are both country-specific and/or global, from the effects of aquaculture on biodiversity and wild fish stocks to socio-economic impacts (e.g. competition for ocean space, land, and property value) (Bush et al. 2013). Asche et al. (1999) categorized salmon farming’s sources of environmental problems into three categories: (1) organic material emission; (2) spread of diseases that may affect wild species; and (3) genetic contamination of wild stocks by escapees.
The evolution of the modern dam conflict on the Snake River, USA
Published in Water International, 2022
Hannah L. Hilbert-Wolf, Andrea K. Gerlak
Declining populations of anadromous fish in the Snake River were documented concurrent with the building of the LSRD, and beginning in 1991, salmon species were listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). There are now 13 ESA-protected fish in the Columbia River Basin, and in 2005 southern resident killer whales (hereafter ‘orcas’) were also listed as endangered, as decreasing salmon populations, their primary prey, is one of multiple threats to their continued survival (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2005). Severe declines in salmon populations triggered calls for removal of the LSRD. Salmon is economically, spiritually and culturally important in the region, especially for the many Native American tribes of the Columbia River Basin. The federal Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) markets the power generated by the LSRD and is required to pay for environmental mitigation to compensate for the dams’ environmental impacts. Although the approximately US$17 billion BPA-funded programme is the largest fish and wildlife restoration programme in the USA, the fish remain in peril today.
Bringing back ecological flows: migratory fish, hydropower and legal maladaptivity in the governance of Finnish rivers
Published in Water International, 2019
Niko Soininen, Antti Belinskij, Anssi Vainikka, Hannu Huuskonen
In a broader context, populations of wild migratory salmonids are affected by numerous anthropogenic factors. For example, the major global threats to wild Atlantic salmon include (in addition to dam construction and stocking of hatchery-reared smolts) overfishing, river engineering, pollution and salmon aquaculture. Forseth et al. (2017) identified escaped farmed salmon and salmon lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) from fish farms as emerging population threats in Norway, and Gyrodactylus salaris parasite, freshwater acidification, hydropower regulation and other habitat alterations as stabilized threats. The threats vary regionally, and in the Baltic Sea basin, the management of stocking and sea ranching has been classified as the most urgent concern (Palmé et al., 2012).
Chinook Salmon habitat evolution following river restoration, drought, and flood
Published in Journal of Ecohydraulics, 2022
Rocko A. Brown, Kirsten Sellheim, Jesse T. Anderson, Joseph E. Merz
Rivers are dynamic landscape components. Throughout most of Earth’s history, river corridor change was driven by geologic and climatic processes that created the template for life in lotic habitats to evolve. However, as life evolved, biogenic processes began to play an important role in river evolution across wide time scales (Reinhardt et al. 2010). For example, late Silurian period (∼425 ma) vascular plant evolution distinctly altered river planforms, changing many from sheet flow dominated braided channels to meandering rivers with distinct channels and floodplains (Gibling and Davies 2012). Animals, including insects, beavers, crocodiles and elephants, also alter the physical structure of river corridors across a range of spatial scales (Naiman and Rogers 1997, Mason et al. 2019). Feedbacks also occur between biotic and abiotic elements, as landscape evolution can also drive species evolution. For example, Montgomery (2000) suggests Pacific Salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) speciation likely followed the evolution of Pacific Rim topography. Salmon, in turn, alter their environment by disturbing streambed gravels to create nests (redds), and cumulatively this can yield as much as 9 to 60% of total annual bedload transport (Hassan et al. 2008). By disturbing the streambed armor layer, spawning salmon make riverbeds more mobile, reducing the sediment transport flow threshold (Gottesfeld et al. 2004, DeVries 2012). It has even been speculated that mass spawning activities can alter river profiles over geologic time scales (Fremier et al. 2018). It is now recognized that river systems coevolve with the flora and fauna that inhabit them.