Now first, there’s not a salmon anywhere in the world that is endangered. The way that game is played is that you identify salmon and name them according to the body of water in which they spawn, swim, and breed. There’s no shortage for crying out loud. The salmon business is obscenely profitable.
Second, the chances of a helicopter dipping its bucket in the water and scooping out tons of salmon, is just absurd. They don’t meddle around on the surface. The noise of a helicopter alone scares the hell out of them. They head for the shore. They’re nowhere near. If they are, it’s a retarded salmon. 
So these fish were given primacy over human beings, over four firefighters. In fact, it was two firemen and two firewomen. It’s not just the salmon that was given primacy over men. Women were subordinated to salmon as well, because they were firewomen. But there’s another side to this story.