Strange Chum Salmon (Oncorhynchus keta)

Observation: My husband and I caught this fish on August 19, 2015. We thought it was funky looking, we took pictures of it and released it back into the Yukon. Someone said it could already have started spawning, I thought it was too early for spawning. After reading an article and seeing similar pictures of the Fukushima Daiichi radiation I thought maybe it could be related to that? Also a couple of days later my husband caught another salmon which was covered in spots completely all over its body from head to toe. We dried it but didn't eat it or take any pictures, we dried it for our dog. April Williams, Koyukuk Tribal Council

Alaska Division of Public Health Consult: – Dr. Ali Hamade, Environmental Public Health Program Manager writes, "The State of Alaska public health and environmental health scientists have been monitoring new data that come out in relation to possible Fukushima effects on the Pacific ocean including marine mammals, fish, kelp, and water. The State was able to send 20 composite fish samples in 2014 and 23 composite fish samples in 2015 of salmon, sablefish, pollock, and halibut that were collected from Alaska water. None of these tests were able to detect any radiation related to Fukushima. You can see these results on Alaska fish and much more about Fukushima on the websites of the departments of Environmental Conservation and Health and Social Services."