Sockeye Salmon

• Sockeye salmon are native to the Pacific Ocean and spend the majority of their lives in lakes that feed into the Pacific. Although sockeye salmon are ranked the third most abundant among Pacific salmon, the Snake River Sockeye Salmon is considered by the United States Government's Office of Protected Species to be an endangered species. It is estimated that there are only a few hundred of this type of sockeye salmon in the ocean.
  
  

Hydroelectric Dams

• Hydroelectric dams, built for water storage and diversion as well as hydroelectric power, have drastically reduced available habitat for sockeye salmon. Some habitats now have limited access and others are now entirely inaccessible. The limits that dams place on the natural flow of water have caused temperature changes and sediment buildup at spawning sites. The effects of these changes are difficult to measure but the inaccessibility of spawning area has the obvious effect of reducing salmon numbers.
  
  

Human Encroachment

• Humans have made significant changes to the sockeye salmon's habitat as well as to the areas adjacent areas. Logging, road construction, mining and urban development have all had indirect effects on sockeye salmon numbers. This human encroachment has caused the degradation of water conditions as well as changes to water temperature and erosion of stream banks.
  
  According to the Office of Protected Resources, the lower 48 states have eliminated approximately 53 percent of native wetlands.
  
  

Overfishing

• Recreational salmon fishing has aided the decrease in population. With far less than optimal condition, salmon do not naturally repopulate as fast as they are being fished. Commercial fishing has also taken its toll. Though it is illegal, some fishermen used drift net fishing techniques that rapidly deplete salmon stock.
  
  

Non-Native Species

• Some non-native predator species have been introduced into the sockeye salmon's habitat. These population changes are result of habitat changes made by humankind. Due to habitat changes, areas occupied by salmon have become more attractive to predators such as sea lions, harbor seals, and large birds.