- Over the past 100 years, the genetic diversity of Baltic salmon has decreased and this may affect the salmon’s ability to cope with future climate and environmental changes, shows a new study from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.
- At the same time, the genetic alignment goes at different speeds in different rivers. In the largest wild salmon river, Torne älv, the diversity has in practice remained while the fish in smaller wild salmon rivers such as Mörrumsån have become more similar to each other.
- “We have linked this to the extensive fish releases or salmon releases that have been made since the hydropower expansion took off in the 1950s,” says Johan Östergren, associate professor at SLU.
Source: ICELAND NEWS