|
CNN Website |
|
Up in the mountains of Idaho, people every year watch for
the return of a native who
jumps waterfalls and swims
950 miles of rapids to get home. |
This year, however, there
is no sign of the Sockeye Salmon and some say this incredible creature is
in danger of being lost forever. Sockeyes once returned
to
spawn here by the
thousands, giving Redfish Lake in Idaho it's name. Now the appearance of
even one would be
encouraging.
"In 1994 we got one... so far this year we don't have any again, so it's a
very
dire
situation," says biologist Keith Johnson.
The Sockeye population is
on
the brink of extinction and on that brink as well, a way of
life for fishing guide Mitch Sanchopena: "With the loss of the runs we
were forced to sell our boats and find other jobs."
|
At the
hatchery in Redfish
Lake, the adult salmon, perhaps the only hope for future generations, swim
in circles when they once swam an epic journey.
|
|
|
"It migrates 900 miles to
the ocean, travels thousands of miles to Alaska, spends a couple of years
in the ocean and can remember exactly where it's home was," explains
Johnson. "And there's no computer chip like that we can ever develop."
Eight
monolithic
dams
on the Snake and Columbia rivers stand between the Sockeye and the
sea. The turbines can be
lethal to young
fish and so are the slow moving, warm
reservoirs. Most never
make it to the ocean.
Some environmentalists
blame
the decline of salmon
on
the four dams along the Lower Snake River. They say it would be more
economical
in the long run
to destroy the dams completely. Some call for temporarily lowering the
reservoirs yearly
to let
the river run naturally. Then young salmon would be
flushed to the sea in
cool waters. But that
would
turn off the
hydroelectric turbines,
halt
navigation, and impact farmers.
"We already face problems everyday with mother nature and just came out of
a
drought. Now
you're talking about a manmade drought," says farmer Pat Takasugi.
Some call the journey of the Sockeye back to Redfish Lake a miraculous
one. A miracle might be what is needed to keep this natural wonder from
disappearing forever. |
Source:
CNN Website
|
GLOSSARY |
to spawn: to deposit their eggs (a
desovar)
encouraging: favourable (alentador)
dire: hopeless, desperate (desesperante)
on the brink of: close to (al borde de la)
hatchery: incubator, a place where eggs are hatched under
artificial conditions (especially fish eggs) (incubadora)
monolithic dams: monumental barriers constructed to contain water
(imponentes diques, represas)
lethal: mortal (letal, mortal)
reservoirs: artificial lakes (reservorios, lagos artificiales) |
blame the decline of salmon on: attribute the responsibility of
salmon reduction to (le echan la culpa de la reducción de salmones a)
in the long run: in the end (a la larga)
to let: to allow, to permit (para permitir que)
flushed: forced to swim, to flow (forzados, obligados)
would turn off: would stop operating (detendría)
halt: stop moving (frenaría la)
drought: temporary shortage of rainfall (sequía) |
|
|
|
MAS "ECOLOGIA - VIDA SILVESTRE"
FORO
INICIO |
|