Beating the heat: colder ocean good news for salmon, DFO says
NANAIMO — A continuous trend toward more normal ocean temperatures is viewed as a positive for the iconic West Coast salmon.
Nanaimo-based Department of Fisheries and Oceans senior research scientist Dr. Ian Perry said record-breaking warm ocean temperature between 2014 and 2016 stressed salmon and weakened their food sources.
But he noted a trend towards colder temperatures, where salmon do better, has continued into this year.
“There are traces of it (warm ocean) at depth at about 100 meters or so, which has some influence on the supply nutrients, but by and large that warm water is generally gone.”