By Ron Brown, KDRV
TV, Medford 5/12/10
NEAR HORNBROOK, Calif. - A study underway on the Upper Klamath River is seeking to find out why so many baby salmon are dying on their way down the river.
Biologists with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have several large traps in the river between Irongate Dam and the Scott River to sample fish. They say a strain of parasite that exists in most Western rivers is out of control in part of the river, leading to extra high mortality rates.
"We've seen, on an annual basis... a loss of around 40 percent of the juveniles, over average, over the past several years," said Nick Hetrick with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Some years the mortality rate is higher than others, with almost as many fish dying as surviving
NEAR HORNBROOK, Calif. - A study underway on the Upper Klamath River is seeking to find out why so many baby salmon are dying on their way down the river.
Biologists with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have several large traps in the river between Irongate Dam and the Scott River to sample fish. They say a strain of parasite that exists in most Western rivers is out of control in part of the river, leading to extra high mortality rates.
"We've seen, on an annual basis... a loss of around 40 percent of the juveniles, over average, over the past several years," said Nick Hetrick with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Some years the mortality rate is higher than others, with almost as many fish dying as surviving