2006年VOA标准英语-Alaska's Salmon Industry Faces Challenges

By Elaine Lu
Washington, D.C.
15 May 2006
 
watch Alaska Salmon¹ report

Wild salmon fishing used to be a big part of Alaska's way of life.  Today it is part of the state's tourism industry, as its commercial fishermen face unprecedented² competition from salmon farms in other locations.  VOA's Joseph Mok and Zhan Jun produced this report from Juneau, Alaska.  Elaine Lu narrates³.

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The Northwest coast of North America is an ideal environment for salmon, which live offshore⁴ but return to the rivers to spawn⁵. During their journeys they are a favorite food of eagles, grizzly⁶ bears -- and people.

Alaska's salmon are all wild -- the state does not allow salmon to be raised in farms. But some fish start their lives at the Macaulay Fish Hatchery.  The eggs are hatched here, and the baby salmon live for one year in a controlled environment, to acquire a clear memory of the water of their birthplace, before being released into fresh water rivers.  Following their instincts, they find their way to the ocean.

It takes up to six years for salmon to become sexually mature.  The fish then come back to their birthplace to spawn. 

The salmon spawning⁷ takes place between June and September.  Visitors come from around the world to join locals for fishing.  The state government of Alaska regulates both commercial and recreational salmon fishing.   All fishermen are required to obtain special licenses⁸.

Mike Miller⁹  
  
Mike Miller and his wife Julie have been in the business of taking people on salmon fishing trips for two decades.  "This is what we call a flat line,” he demonstrates. “We'll send this right behind the boat.  It doesn't have any weight on except for that little 4-ounce [113 grams] weight.  And it will be right up on the surface.  We're going to set the pole so we are running 60 feet (18 meters) down, up to the surface.”

Mike continued, “Now what we are going to do is hide and see what happens.  Actually our target fish is King Salmon and Coho.  Those are the two we want to catch.  There are Chum and Pinks in the water, which we will catch a few of those too.  But, they are not as desirable as the other fish."

Explaining how difficult it is to catch the desired species, he tells us, "Typically what the king salmon and the Coho salmon will do is, they will go through a school of baits.  They hit them with their tails.  They beat them up, and they come back around and pick up the cripples, the fish that are going around in circles.  That's what they feed on."

"So a lot of times when we catch a king salmon and Coho, they will snap them.  They will hook them by the tail.  When they swatted the lure¹⁰ with their tail they got hooked.  Doesn't happen a lot, but it does happens," says Mike.

The Millers¹¹' boat is equipped with state-of-the-art technology, but Mike says it all comes down to having a sharp hook, a piece of bait and a hungry fish.

  
  
Alaska's wild salmon runs are among the largest in the world. For years, Alaskan fishermen had no problem selling their catch to a world market willing to pay hefty prices. But lately, Alaska salmon has become a tougher sell because of the increase in farm-raised salmon.

Alaskans are fighting back by pointing out that scientists say farm-raised salmon contain ten times more PCB, a cancer-causing chemical, and their fish are all-natural. They say 90 percent of wild salmon produced for the U.S. market comes from Alaska -- and contains no antibiotics¹² or food coloring. 

But today, it is no longer enough to just bring in fresh fish and send them to market. Salmon are sent to the dock through suction pipes, and go to processing plants, where they are weighed and sorted.

After they are cleaned, skinned and filleted, they are frozen.  Then they are made into all kinds of products from salmon jerky to smoked  and canned fish.

A symbol of Alaska's wilderness¹³ ends up as processed fish in a container.

1 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？

2 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

3 narrates   

v.故事( narrate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• It narrates the unconstitutional acts of James II. 它历数了詹姆斯二世的违法行为。 来自辞典例句
• Chapter three narrates the economy activity which Jew return the Occident. 第三章讲述了犹太人重返西欧后的经济活动。 来自互联网

4 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

5 spawn   

n.卵，产物，后代，结果；vt.产卵，种菌丝于，产生，造成；vi.产卵，大量生产

参考例句：

• The fish were madly pushing their way upstream to spawn.鱼群为产卵而疯狂地向上游挤进。
• These fish will lay spawn in about one month from now.这些鱼大约一个月内会产卵。

6 grizzly   

adj.略为灰色的，呈灰色的；n.灰色大熊

参考例句：

• This grizzly liked people.这只灰熊却喜欢人。
• Grizzly bears are not generally social creatures.一般说来，灰熊不是社交型动物。

7 spawning   

产卵

参考例句：

• Encounter sites have a small chance of spawning a "Commander" NPC. 遭遇战地区有很小的几率遇到NPC指挥官。
• Instantly revives your Champion at your Spawning Pool, 9 minute cooldown. 立即在出生地复活你的英雄，冷却时间9分钟。

8 licenses   

n.执照( license的名词复数 )v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Drivers have ten days' grace to renew their licenses. 驾驶员更换执照有10天的宽限期。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Jewish firms couldn't get import or export licenses or raw materials. 犹太人的企业得不到进出口许可证或原料。 来自辞典例句

9 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

10 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

11 millers   

n.（尤指面粉厂的）厂主( miller的名词复数 )；磨房主；碾磨工；铣工

参考例句：

• Millers and bakers sought low grain prices. 磨粉厂主和面包师寻求低廉的谷物价格。 来自辞典例句
• He told me he already been acquainted with the Millers. 他跟我说他同米勒一家已经很熟。 来自互联网

12 antibiotics   

n.（用作复数）抗生素；（用作单数）抗生物质的研究；抗生素，抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
• The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。

13 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。