(CNN) Alaskan salmon are getting smaller due to climate change and competition, according to a new study. The authors researched over six decades of data from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game -- from 1957 to 2018 -- on over 12.5 million fish. The primary cause of the declining body size of salmon, according to the study , is that the fish are spending less time out in the open Pacific Ocean. "We saw a strong and consistent pattern that the salmon are returning to the rivers younger than they did historically," Eric Palkovacs, a professor at UC Santa Cruz and a corresponding author of the study, said in a news release. "It seems that the ocean is becoming a riskier place to be," he said.

Source: CNN August 21, 2020 00:22 UTC