NEWPORT, Ore. – The finger of blame for declining runs of
Pacific Northwest salmon has been pointed broadly: habitat loss
from logging and development, an abundance of predatory sea
lions, power-generating dams, terns and other coastal birds that
prey on juvenile fish, and over-fishing by commercial and sport
fishermen. But no factor is more critical to salmon prosperity
than ocean conditions, experts say, and the complex interaction
between biologically distinct groups of salmon and changing
ocean habitats has created a nightmare for resource managers. At
the same time a projected huge run of spring chinook salmon are
entering the Columbia River, fishing on one of its major
tributaries – the Willamette River – has been closed because of
a shockingly low estimate of returning fish. And offshore salmon
seasons are in jeopardy along the entire West Coast this spring
and summer because of a projected historic low return of fish to
the Sacramento River basin. The common denominator in the good
and bad runs is the