Fish priorities

[rmwilliams7]

My addition to Greenbergs 4 goals for wild fish protection in the future would be much like Greenbergs 2nd goal. However, instead of just protecting ocean habitat, I believe it should be made a priority to protect land habitat for wild fish species as well as ocean habitat, since it is such a crucial part of the sustainability of populations and reproduction of anadromous fish. Like Greenbergs states, nearly 2.2 million acres a year in the United States alone is consumed by urban development, and this poses a huge threat for wild fish habitat that is no confined to the ocean. As an example, Wild salmon from the Copper River in Alaska, as well as Bristol Bay salmon, depend on there pristine environment upriver to survive and reproduce. This land is currently untouched and I believe we need to put in place laws that permanently protect these areas. Its important because when most people think about sustaining wild fish populations they think about protecting ocean habitat, but is is much more than that because without these rivers then we would have no wild fish at all. There is a reason Alaska wild fish populations do better than other areas in the country and this contributes to it greatly.

[Kyleigh McArthur]

That’s very true that most of the time people tend to focus on the ocean habitat and completely ignore the land habitat that affect fish as well. Runoff, coastal development, a lot of things affect the fish and most people don’t take the time to consider these affects.

[jlrogers4]

I also believe that urban development poses a huge threat to marine life. The runoff would increase into the waterways and water regimes would be altered.

[hmbaird]

This is such an important thing to highlight! Land-based habitats (especially for anadromous species such as salmon) are of the utmost importance. People are so unaware that their backyard streams can hold hundreds and hundreds of baby salmon! Our river systems are our baby rearing grounds for salmon, and without them we would have no salmon fisheries. This is why the anadromous catalogue and the protections it (sometimes) provides is so important.

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