Dry temperatures and no rainfall mean not enough water in the rivers for the annual salmon migration. Upwards of 80,000 thousand dead fish line the riverbank in Bella Bella, B.C. Migrations in other areas are impacted as well. An ecological disaster.
Every fall we have watched in awe
as you flung your mighty bodies
up the rocky passages,
making your migration
to spawn next year's
hatchlings.
as you flung your mighty bodies
up the rocky passages,
making your migration
to spawn next year's
hatchlings.
Bears grew fat
along the shore
when all was well.
along the shore
when all was well.
But this year
all is not well.
all is not well.
The summer stretches into October.
Your wet channel grew dry;
the riverbed is now just rocks
covered with your bodies.
the riverbed is now just rocks
covered with your bodies.
Farewell, farewell,
to nutrient-rich food
for bears and wolves
and eagles,
farewell
to big family dinners
for indigenous people,
who have lived respectfully
with salmon
for 10,000 years.
to nutrient-rich food
for bears and wolves
and eagles,
farewell
to big family dinners
for indigenous people,
who have lived respectfully
with salmon
for 10,000 years.
The First People of the land
never dreamed
there would come a time
of no more salmon.
The white man's greed
cares not for others' need.
I feel the shame.
never dreamed
there would come a time
of no more salmon.
The white man's greed
cares not for others' need.
I feel the shame.
We have dried up all the rain.
How do we now get the river
to return again?
How do we now get the river
to return again?
Will I ever watch you fling yourself
upstream again,
amazed how high you leap
against the rushing
downward push
of the roaring current?
upstream again,
amazed how high you leap
against the rushing
downward push
of the roaring current?
Some of us know
the collapse of this ecosystem
- a disaster -
will have a reach far beyond
next year's migration.
Our impact is having consequences
beyond my gloomiest
imagination.
the collapse of this ecosystem
- a disaster -
will have a reach far beyond
next year's migration.
Our impact is having consequences
beyond my gloomiest
imagination.
It is the saddest
of farewells.
of farewells.
It is amazing, given all of the extreme climate events, that world leaders are not pressing the panic button. Meanwhile insane men are pressing nuclear buttons, so maybe we won't have to worry about no more salmon. What a CRAZY world this is. I just learned that the last of the old growth is being made into WOOD CHIPS and sent to other countries. Not even being used for construction or industry here at home. When a writer tried to talk about the ecosystem to the CEO of a logging company in northern B.C., he repled, "We're making money, lady." And that is all that matters, to the greedy corporate mind. It seems we are a suicidal species, with deadly impact on all other beings.
for my prompt at earthweal: Wild Souls
I watched the video and it broke my heart that the salmon had no place to go. It definitely throws the environment off balance. How do we get the river to return again? sigh...Everything is connected. How do we right all that is wrong? The impact will be felt many generations from now. A
ReplyDeleteA sad farewell...this posted before I could finish.
DeleteYes, and next summer will be hotter and the riverbeds drier. Sigh. More than one ecosystem in trouble here.
ReplyDeleteOnce the food chain is broken, there's no telling how quickly the dominoes will fall, how wide the impact will be.. this is another horrific example of climate disaster and human greed, absolutely.
ReplyDeleteNo more powerful homage to a wild soul than to experience grief at their loss -- and ours, that such duration and plenty will never be seen again.
ReplyDeleteSo deeply sad. I am reminded of the many Celtic myths ( Fionn mac Cumhaill, Taliesin) where Salmon is revered as a holder of wisdom and knowledge and shudder to think what it means for us that we are killing them off.
ReplyDeleteHow incredibly sad that the salmon are not swimming up the rivers this year. Unbearable to think of really. Here the rain just keeps on coming. Floods inundate rivers where there were massive fish die offs in the drought of 2019-20. Suzanne - Mapping Uncertainty..
ReplyDeleteSuzanne, I wonder if your fish returned once the rivers were running again? Here, the salmon go upstream to lay their eggs for next year. Which isnt happening now they are all dead in dry riverbeds. I wonder if they will rebound if the rivers do?
ReplyDeleteheartbreaking
ReplyDeleteFirst the trees and now the salmon. Sad. ]]
ReplyDeleteIn Maryland those working to reclaim the lower Anacostia River have reintroduced trout and then herring, with mixed success. I think the worst thing was seeing foreign-born people wading out in the river with hooks and lines, thinking the survival of these fish meant it was safe to wade in the water and eat the fish. But one day, perhaps, it will be.
*the meaning of ]] above is that my finger missed the return key and hit the ] key.
ReplyDeleteIt chills the soul, the ignorance and greed. Too much and too little all at once...(Kerfe)
ReplyDeleteI watched the Yukon episde of PBS "Rivers of Life" and felt the wild of which you sppeak--bear and salmon and trumpeter swans all dependent on each other. Thankfully it is river without much human life. We were just there--are just there to take down whatever trees are left. Such Grief.
ReplyDelete