A new report released by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has found that salmon play a vital role in watershed health, transporting nutrients from the ocean back to the watershed. The discovery could spark major changes in fishery and hatchery management and the direction of salmon recovery efforts in the future. Northwest species now struggling because of depleted salmon runs include the bald eagle, grizzly bear, black bear, osprey, harlequin duck, Caspian tern and river otter. It brings together 500 scientific studies and decades of research to document the vital role salmon play in the overall health of ecosystems.
Pacific salmon are unique in that they die after they reproduce.
When salmon return from the ocean, they bring vital nutrients with them to the watersheds where they were hatched. Through their decomposing carcasses, the salmon spawning process offers a vital source of food not just for salmon and other fish species, but for a whole host of organisms in the watershed. Prior research has documented that salmon rely on the decomposing salmon carcasses as a major food source. National Marine Fisheries Service biologist Robert Bilby found that 40 to 60 percent of the stomach contents of young salmon and steelhead could be traced to salmon carcasses. When salmon carcasses were placed in streams, the density of young coho salmon in those streams increased compared to other sites.