Warming Waters Boost Pike Appetite, Threaten Salmon

0:00It's April 29. This is Anchorage News Today, your AI-powered local news. Invasive northern pike snuck into South Central Alaska rivers back in the 1950s have been showing down on young salmon and native fish for decades. A new University of Alaska Fairbank study drops a harsh truth as waters warm up, these pike crank up their appetite, projected to devour 6-2, 12 percent more fish by the end of the century. Search is zeroed in on the Desk River, a key spot feeding in the Cook inland and prized by anglers for its salmon runs. That river is getting hotter, especially in flat, non-glacier areas, hitting over 81 degrees Fahrenheit in July of 2019. Pike love the heat, they swim faster and hunt better, while salmon slow down and struggle. Salmon numbers, especially king and coho, have tanked over years from multiple hits, including these greedy pike. Those in biologists see the pike switching meals too, even if salmon vanish, pike hit

1:02whitefish, trout, bugs, birds, or small mammals without. Skipping a beat, stomach checks show pike eating fewer salmon lately, but that's just because salmon are scarcer, not because pike quit. Experts warn suppression is key, and Alaska fishing game has pulled it off somewhat, yanking over 25,000 pike from Alexander Creek by, 2021, boosting salmon there, efforts roll on through partnerships, targeting pike hotspots while protecting swift, gravelly streams they hate, keeping hope alive for salmon. Strongholds in the Matsu burrow.