Tue, September 18, 2018 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS RESEARCH LABORATORY (AERL). Location: AERL Theatre, UBC
Speaker: Dr. Nate Mantua
NOAA NMFS
Southwest Fisheries Science Center
The “warm blob” of 2014-2016 is the latest, and perhaps most dramatic, case of climate extremes having severe negative impacts on west coast salmon fisheries. U.S. west coast Chinook salmon catches in 2016 were the 5th lowest since 1971, harvest quotas were not met, and spawning escapements to the Klamath and Sacramento River basins were very low. For 2017, the Klamath River Chinook salmon abundance forecast is the lowest on record, and 2017 salmon fisheries have been sharply restricted from southern Oregon to southern California. Sustained hard times for modern US west coast salmon fisheries began in the early 1990s, with eleven of the past twenty-five years marked by federal disaster declarations. Using a framework for a fishery being composed of an integrated system linking nature, law, and economy, in this talk I evaluate the role that climate extremes, resource management policies, and the evolving salmon production system played in federal fishery disaster determinations for US west coast Chinook Salmon fisheries. I also evaluate the role of climate change in recent Northeast Pacific climate trends and extremes, and what future climate projections suggest for the future of the west coast salmon production system.
Tickets: EventBrite or email larkinlecture@oceans.ubc.ca to register
About Larkin Lectures
Offered biennially, the Larkin Lecture is a free public lecture by a leading oceans or fisheries researcher. The Larkin Lectures honour the memory of Dr. Peter Larkin, an eminent fisheries biologist and emeritus professor who was known for his expertise in conservation, resource management and environmental impact assessment.