Salmon Nation
Introduction/Chapter 1:
Recalling Celilo
This
chapter, written by Elizabeth Woddy, focused on the history of salmon in the
northwest. Celilo falls was an important a remarkable sight of the past. It was a place where gigantic salmon thrived, and
which Native Americans lived off of and worshiped. Celilo means “echo of
falling water” or “sound of water upon rock”. In 1957 the Dalles Dam was
constructed, which flooded the falls and dramatically altered the habitat for
the salmon in the Columbia River. This chapter stresses the importance of the salmon
on communities and how their downfall would be a catastrophe. The map diagram
of California is informative about the relationship between salmon and
population density: areas surrounding the salmon runs were more densely
populated.
It
was great to learn about the salmon from the perspective of someone who has
found such a significant importance in them. The salmon were a huge part of the
lives of the Wyampum tribe, which I found to be really fascinating. The way
that she discussed the building of the dam made it seem like a horrific
tragedy, which is a different perspective than I often hear. This chapter got
me excited about reading this book. The short and easy to read chapters with
pictures is like a huge breath of fresh air in comparison to my normal reading
for classes.
Chapter 2: Muddied Waters,
Muddled Thinking
This
chapter is dedicated to how human actions affect the rivers and the salmon. What
I believe the main point that they were trying to get across is that “Everything
that happens to flowing water, from the ridgetop to rivulet to the river
itself, affects the health of the salmon”. When the early settlers migrated to
the west coast, some showed regard to how they might harm nature but many
others did not. Logging, cattle grazing, the constructions of roads, dams, the
canning of fish, and various other activities of the settlers had devastating
effects on the salmon population. When it was realized how these things were putting
the salmon and steelhead populations in danger, humans thought that they would
find a way to save the fish without stopping their ways. Fisheries were originally
were thought to be the supreme way of breeding fish in comparison to nature,
because “so much less goes to waste”. Biologists finally realized that this was
wrong; fisheries are actually harmful to the wild fish population. Our
dependence on the things that are harmful to the fish and rivers has made it
difficult to create change.
This
chapter brought some questions to my mind: Have humans finally realized that
it’s not a good idea to mess with nature? Will we stop harming the bodies of
water in time to save the endangered species? I think that it is absolutely
absurd how naïve we are when it comes to protecting nature. People need to
realize that nature has its ways of maintaining it’s delicate balances, and
that it is best if we do not interfere. I found it interesting to read about
the detail of exactly how we are harming the salmon and their habit, and how we
did so unintentionally throughout the years. I have gained a deeper
understanding of the problems we have created in relations to salmon, and it
has deepened my resentment of the way we humans treat nature so poorly. I found
the information on logging to be the most interesting and infuriating part of
the chapter.
Chapter 3: Ghost Town
Many
communities, such as the example of the canning town Namu given in this short
essay, have been dependent on the salmon. Many changes in technology (i.e.
fishing vessels and dams) have caused communities such as Namu to be abandoned.
The salmon shortages are due to humans not treating the rivers or salmon respectfully.
Many species of salmon and steelhead have become extinct from this, which has
not only altered ecosystems but also human communities. Lawsuits, violence, and
a verity of conflicts have arisen from the problems concerning the low numbers
of fish. Many fisheries have been created in attempt to rectify the problems,
particularly in lower British Columbia. These fisheries have tried to replace
the wild fish with farmed fish, but the farmed fish have only made the
situations worse. Before all the upswing of dams and other harmful things, the
salmon gave communities so much that we had stronger reasons to protect them.
I
think the most important thing that was said in the article was that “one could
not design a better creature to base culture than the salmon”. They are such
hardworking and amazing animals, that many communities have indeed based their
culture off of them. The destruction of salmon species and habitat has ruined
these communities. I agree with this article that we should not have huge
fishing vessels and high-tech equipment to catch salmon. These things are
expensive for fisherman, and it just makes catching salmon a competition among
fishermen. If there weren’t so many hatchery fish flooding the market, then
fishermen could make just as much money catching a smaller amount of wild fish,
and everyone would be better off. Like you said Professor Hunt, maybe someone
should just go blow up the fisheries with bombs.
Portfolio: The Six Species
of Salmon Nation
Salmon
live not just in the stream, but also in watersheds, which are areas that flow
into a particular stream. Chinook, Chum, Coho, Pink, and Sockeye salmon, along
with sea-going steelhead and cutthroat trout, live in the North American west
coast. Chinook numbers are increasing in Alaska, but are not doing very well in
many other regions. There are high numbers of Chum, but lots of them are
hatchery. The Coho are threatened in Oregon and California, but doing fine
beside that. Pink are dong fine everywhere, for the most part. Sockeye, the
beautiful red salmon, have a threatened run in Washington and are endangered on
the Snake river, but otherwise are doing fine and doing very well in Alaska.
Steelhead populations are declining from California to the Puget Sound.
I
found the map diagrams in this section to be both informative and visually
stimulating. To me it does not seem like a coincidence that the more north you
go, the fewer species are endangered/threatened. I think that this primarily
because there are less people around to ruin their habit. I like how this
chapter gave me the opportunity to compare the different species in both how
they look and the locations that they are/aren’t thriving.
Chapter 4: Keep the Gift Moving
This chapter is the personal story
of a man who worked as a commercial fisherman. In this novel-like chapter he shares
his feelings, experiences, and knowledge about commercial fishing. There are
several types of commercial fishing nets and techniques, some of which are
somewhat similar to what the Native Americans used. It doesn’t make sense that
fishermen buy such big and expensive equipment, because they will just need to
catch greater amounts of fish to pay off their debt. Commercial fishing can be
very dangerous and also takes the spiritual aspect out of fishing. The salmon,
which are so important to us and are other living creatures, are simply treated
as if they are nothing but product to sell for money.
My
favorite quote in this chapter is “ By denying ourselves the perception of our
relation to the creatures dying on deck, we were in some essential way denying
ourselves wholeness of being”. I think that the chapter really accurately
explains how the ways of commercial fishing has become so bad and how they
should be in some ways reverted to those of earlier generations. Being a
fisherman in today’s world is a difficult and unstable career. I think that
needs to be changed, even if that means the government giving aid to fishermen.
I found the diagram that explained all the different types of fishing rigs to
be interesting. I enjoyed this story and think I learned valuable information
from it, but I’m afraid that a lot of it was bias and too personal to believe
without skepticism.
Chapter 5: Toward a New
Salmon Economy
This chapter focuses on the good
things that have been happening to salmon. People have been creating better habitat
for them. Some people have even started sustainably and beneficially farming
wild salmon in areas of need. Watershed and restoration groups have been
created along California, Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia. These
groups are focusing on all different types of projects in attempt to assist the
salmon populations. We have been learning to live in a more sustainable way
with nature and salmon. Positive effects are being seen from these efforts, and
there is hope for the salmon. People should not blame one another for the
depletion of salmon, but should work together and to try to rectify it.
This was a good reflection and
conclusion to Salmon Nation. It gave
me an overall sense of understanding of the problems and possible solutions
regarding salmon. I feel like I have gained a new appreciation for salmon from
reading this book and this chapter toped it off. I now know how very important
salmon are to different communities and what amazing creatures they are. I see
a light at the end of the tunnel full of darkness, salmon will live on.
Overall, I have learned more about salmon by reading this book than I ever
thought that I would know about them. Salmon
Nation was a great introduction to my knowledge about them.
