Fisheries Productivity in the Northeastern Pacific Ocean over the Past 2,200 Years
- Authors: B.P. Finney, I. Gregory-Eaves, M.S.V. Douglas, and J.P. Smol
- Pub. no.: RP-02-08
- Year: 2002
- Price: Single copies free
Description
The authors constructed ~2,200-year records of sockeye salmon abundance from sediment cores obtained from salmon nursery lakes on Kodiak Island, Alaska. A marked, several-century decline in Alaska sockeye salmon was apparent from 100 B.C. to A.D. 800, but salmon were consistently more abundant from AD 1200 to 1900. The size of this abundance shift far exceeds the decadal-scale variability recorded during the past 300 years. Synchronous variability between the few other paleoceanographic records, and this data, strongly suggest that climate-related factors may greatly influence fish abundances over large geographic areas. Nature 416:729-733.
