Sockeye salmon over Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River. Lower temperatures in 2008 North Pacific waters brought in fatter plankton, which, along with greater outflows of Columbia River water, fed the resurgent populations. Proposed legislative efforts, such as the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act, are attempting to protect the headwaters of the sockeye salmon by preventing industrial development in roadless areas. Record numbers of a once-waning population of sockeye salmon have been returning to the Northwest's Columbia Basin (as of June 2012), with thousands more crossing the river's dams in a single day than the total numbers seen in some previous years.
Fish stringer Fish stringer A fish stringer is a line of rope or chain along which a fisherman can string fish so they can be immersed and kept alive in water. A rope stringer "(pictured)" is the simplest type of fish stringer. It consists of a line of rope or wire with a stringing needle made of metal or hardwood at one end. The other end usually has a removable wire ring which can be used to secure the stringer. Using the needle, the stringer is threaded through the fish gill and out through its mouth, or better, it is threaded through