WHEN YOU
LOOK
Western Bluebird
Sockeye Injustice: A Conversation on Conservation
When you look at this sockeye salmon, you see justice.
Each year, the sockeye salmon takes on a very treacherous journey. Their life begins in a freshwater lake called Redfish Lake. Redfish Lake gets its name from when plentiful sockeye populations would make the water glimmer red. After reproduction at Redfish takes place, the sockeye migrates to the ocean where they develop and feed. The process begins all over again after the sockeye swim over 900 miles and climbs over 6500 feet to return to their freshwater roots.
Unfortunately, the four lower Snake River dams are causing fewer and fewer salmon to return. The four lower Snake River dams are wreaking havoc on salmon’s natural processes. The injustices of these dams have been higher water temperatures, harm to local ecosystems, and lower salmon populations. Injustice is occurring as the sockeye join the sorrowful list of endangered species.
Hiding in a large tank in the Orma J. Smith Museum Natural History, this sockeye specimen tells a personal story of injustice. I learned that the specimen was from the Idaho Fish and Game Fish Hatchery in Eagle, ID. This specific sockeye never got to experience the wild as he was removed from the hatchery. It was removed from the hatchery because he was producing milt, or semen, in April, compared to most sockeye salmon who are fall-spawners. The hatchery, wanting to prevent the continuation of this trait, was going to dispose of the fish when the museum asked if they could take him in as a specimen.
​
I was presented with the opportunity to tell this fish’s story…
Bring justice to what seemed like a tragic ending!
​Through the eyes of this specific salmon, we can learn all about different types of injustices that occur related to salmon. For example, the loss of the salmon has affected tribal populations, especially the Nez Perce, immensely. Besides the food that sockeye fishing provides, many indigenous tribes will tell stories of the salmon to pass down their culture. The sockeyes are also very important to the sustainability of the ecosystems that, not only the indigenous populations, but all of us heavily rely on. The sockeye salmon specimen helped me confront topics such as bioethical, environmental, cultural, and economic injustice.
