Wild salmon may be in trouble on West Coast

OK, this is really not news I want to hear. The Pacific salmon is an anchor species for ecosystems on the whole Pacific Northwest Coast, from Oregon to the Aleutians. But what can be done?

Salmon-Killing Virus Seen for First Time in the Wild on the Pacific Coast

The virus could have “a devastating impact” not just on the region’s farmed and wild salmon but on the many species that depend on them in the food web, like grizzly bears, killer whales and wolves, Dr. Routledge said. “No country has ever gotten rid of it once it arrives,” he said in a statement.

The only barrier between the salmon farms and wild fish is a net, he noted at the news conference, opening the way for “pathogens sweeping in and out.” No treatment exists for infectious salmon anemia.