Story of the Salmon

Vaishnavi Sridhar

We were born where our ancestors were,
We bore many problems to reach there.
We run once a year and even cross roads,
And that is a spectacle to behold.

We are pitted against a force,
To run nature’s course.
Just to reach our source,
Without any remorse.

We start tiny and go through stages,
And this has been going on for ages.
We start fresh, then go to the salty paradise,
Years later we return, much bigger in size.

You may think that we juggle,
But our life is a struggle.
We travel for miles and jump high,
All this without a hue and cry.

Many of us sacrifice ourselves for the future,
An unfortunate end to our adventure.
This repeats year after year,
And let me make that clear.

Whales, bears and many more,
These creatures we abhor.
They make us their meal,
And that is surely a big deal.

Our biggest enemies aren’t any of those,
As we have greater foes.
Dams, overfishing, invasive species,
And climate change are our true worries.

The Science

The poet learned more about salmon, their life cycle and the challenges that these fish face at every step of their life, after moving to the Pacific Coast. Salmon fish start their journey as eggs laid in rivers. These eggs hatch into alevins, which develop into fry. The fry develop into parr, which develop into smolt that migrate to the ocean/sea. The smolt develop into adults that spend a few years in the ocean/sea. Adult fish return to the stream that they were born in and lay eggs (spawn). Salmon fish lay thousands of eggs of which only a few make it into the adult stage. In case of most Pacific salmon and Atlantic salmon species, after spawning, the fish do not have much energy left to return to the ocean/sea and die in the stream itself. Few species of Atlantic salmon do not suffer such a fate and can return to spawn the next year. Salmon are consumed by bears, whales, birds of prey and many other organisms. They hold a great cultural significance amongst many Indigenous communities. However, recent developments like dams, overfishing, introduction of invasive species and climate change are big threats to salmon populations. Invasive species can eat salmon and compete with them for food. Higher ocean and river temperatures impact the food sources of salmon and impact their migration. This poem captures the different struggles and challenges faced by salmon.

The Poet

Vaishnavi Sridhar (she/her) is a PhD candidate in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at the University of British Columbia, Canada. She studies proteins required for different parts of a cell (organelles) to contact each other and the relevance of these inter organellar contacts for cellular function and disease. When not in the lab, she can be found doing origami, writing poems, writing science articles or cooking something delicious.

Next poem: This is not the Verse by Alex Moss