Why are there suddenly salmon in Canada’s far north-west?
The arrival of salmon in the NWT is worrying local people, who are normally used to catching artic fish. Coastal, riverbanks, lakeshores inhabitants of NW Canada and scientists are working closely together to understand these changes. They find that the salmon are passing through the open waters of the Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort seas.
It’s warm, there’s no ice… so there they come! Sockeye salmon, Pacific salmon and many others, like pink salmon, cross Points, Capes and peninsulas on their way to the Canadian Arctic. “Studies on fish migration show that several species enter the Arctic via the Bering Strait, but what we’re finding out now is how salmon can then head eastwards,” explains Karen Dunmall, a biologist at Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Her team of researchers has joined forces with subsistence fishers from the Northwest Territories and Nunavut forming the Arctic Salmon Network project. They co-published a study on June 5 in the journal Globale Change Biology. It reveals that these fish take advantage of the simultaneous opening and warming of several maritime areas to reach or pass the Mackenzie River delta.
Two seas separate this river from the Bering Strait: the Chukchi Sea and the Beaufort Sea. “They need a corridor of warm water”, explains Joseph Langan from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, co-author of the study. When the ice breaks up and melts in spring, the sun acts on the open water. It warms the Chukchi Sea and the same applies to the Beaufort Sea. The earlier this happens, the higher the temperature can rise. When both warm up sufficiently in late spring, the salmon move eastwards along the North American coastline.
People in north-western Canada usually fish for Arctic char and brook trout, but since the 2000s they have recorded an increase in catches of five new species of salmon. “Without the guidance and leadership of the local communities, the project would not have happened. We would not even known salmon are in the western Canadian Arctic. These fish are tangible signs of change,” says Karen Dunmall. “The communities wondered why there were years with more or fewer salmon and we worked together to find an answer.”
“Climatologists’ results show that the ice will continue to melt earlier and recover later in the year, with variations from one year to the next,” notes Joseph Langan. Fishermen’s nets are catching more and more salmon, which should continue to pour in. A growing number of communities are discovering these species for the first time. “We’ve been working with the people of the Canadian Arctic for over twenty years to answer their questions about these changes,” adds Karen Dunmall.
Can they then reproduce locally? “The winter is probably too cold. The rivers are freezing down to the bottom, so they may not find the freshwater or the habitat they need to complete their life cycle,” explains Karen Dunmall, pointing out that they have to keep looking for more answers. “‘What would be the consequences for char and trout?’ they also ask us”, says the researcher.
For those who would like to eat these fishes, there is another essential question: how to enjoy them on the table and on the taste buds? The team has answered this question by publishing a book of recipes: stews, quiches… there’s something for everyone.
Camille Lin, Polar Journal AG
Cookbook: L. Christie, K. Dunmall, M. Bilous, D. McNicholl and J. Reist. 2020, A cookbook for Arctic salmon, Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
Link to the study : Dunmall, K.M., Langan, J.A., Cunningham, C.J., Reist, J.D., Melling, H., Aklavik Hunters and Trappers Committee, Olokhaktomiut Hunters and Trappers Committee, Paulatuk Hunters and Trappers Committee, Sachs Harbour Hunters and Trappers Committee, Tuktoyaktuk Hunters and Trappers Committee, Kugluktuk Hunters and Trappers Organization, 2024. Pacific salmon in the Canadian Arctic highlight a range-expansion pathway for sub-Arctic fishes. Global Change Biology 30, e17353. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.17353.
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