March 16, 2021 — Ocean conditions can be integral to salmon survival. And in 2021, the Pacific Northwest’s iconic fish will face a mixed bag: some good and some bad conditions while out at sea.
Salmon survive best when the water is cooler along the coast and warmer farther out. Colder La Niña conditions have also led to higher salmon counts. Right now, that’s exactly what’s happening. But things will likely change over the summer.
“The next few months look pretty good. However, things are expected to change. A lot of the warm water we’ve seen the past couple of years is not gone completely. It’s just not at the surface,” says Brian Burke, a research fisheries biologist with NOAA Fisheries.
The mixed messages the ocean is sending for salmon survival could be frustrating for fisheries managers, who are trying to figure out how many fish will return to fresh waters.
Warm water may come close to the coastline this July through September, which spells trouble for salmon in the ocean.