The high nitrogen isotope ratio and the marine carbon signature in his bones reflect consumption of salmon as part of a broader marine diet — salmon that had fed on marine organisms through their ocean phase, carrying the isotopic signature of marine food into the bodies of the people who ate them.

The salmon runs have persisted across the 10,300 years since Shuká Káa was alive.

The specific rivers on Prince of Wales Island that carried salmon in the early Holocene carry salmon today.

The specific patterns of salmon abundance in the waters of the archipelago — the concentration of different species in different areas at different times of year — have been maintained through the stability of the marine ecosystem and the specific geography of the coast.

This persistence is not guaranteed.