Save The Salmon, Save The World (Joshua Johnson, The 1A)

The northern Pacific Ocean bridges cultures and economies from western Canada and the American Northwest to East Asia and Russia’s Far East. For all their differences, communities in each of those places rely on one essential animal: salmon.

Salmon are critical not only to the ecosystems they’re part of — affecting everything from forests to orcas and grizzly bears — but also to a $3 billion industry that employs tens of thousands of people, according to conservationist Guido Rahr.

But human impact has caused salmon stocks to drop dramatically, with devastating economic and environmental consequences. A proposed mine in southwestern Alaska has generated backlash, and even among environmentalists, priorities clash. The push to build hydroelectric dams — an important source of “clean energy” — has cut salmon off from their spawning grounds.

Rahr is the subject of “Stronghold: One Man’s Quest to Save the World’s Wild Salmon,” a new book by journalist and novelist Tucker Malarkey. Malarkey chronicles Rahr’s work to restore salmon stocks as it takes him around the world and leads him to form unlikely partnerships with celebrities and Russian oligarchs.

We talk to Rahr and Malarkey about what it will take to save the Pacific’s salmon.
Interview:
https://the1a.org/shows/2019-07-23/save-the-salmon-save-the-world