Salmon Steward

salmon Steward magazine 9 CHINOOK & ORCAS We had a great team to design, implement and monitor the project.PSF recently completed the eectiveness monitoring for it, and Coho and Chinook are using the habitat for rearing! On a personal note, I have worked with Resident orcas in the past, so the importance of this work to SRKWs was a consideration throughout the project." — Robin Taylor, Senior Environmental Assessment Manager, Hemmera WHO: Kanaka Education and Environmental Partnership Society (KEEPS) WHERE: Kanaka Creek/Maple Ridge WHAT: Research has shown that Harrison Chinook are a favoured food source of the Southern Resident Killer Whales. "We know that Harrison Chinook use lower Kanaka habitat to feed on their way to the Fraser, because we work with students and volunteers to do fry surveys every spring [pictured below]. We do a lot of invasive species removals to restore the habitat there. We're also working with Watershed Watch to allow flows into the Katzie Slough so ocean-bound Chinook can access the area for resting and feeding." — Ross Davies, Program Interpreter, KEEPS WHO: Fraser Valley Watershed Coalition (FVWC) WHERE: Fraser River Floodplain/ District of Hope WHAT: Getting bigger faster can help young Chinook survive when they reach the ocean. But, extensive development along the Fraser has greatly limited o-channel habitat where juveniles can pull over and fuel up on their journey downstream. "With our partners, we're converting an old gravel pit into a functional salmon habitat – an area roughly the size of 91 hockey rinks. Currently, Chinook that enter the pit are becoming trapped when Fraser River flows recede, with many dying from lack of water, reduced oxygen and food availability, and from predators like invasive carp, which are also found in the pit. This project will create a permanent connection that will let Chinook freely move in and out and 'bulk up' on insects that fall from trees and shrubs, supporting this intense feeding and growth period. Restoration of this pit will be important for Chinook and all Pacific salmon as they migrate out of the Fraser Canyon and prepare for their journey to the Salish Sea." — Natashia Cox, Program Director, FVWC WHO: Raincoast Conservation Foundation WHERE: Fraser Estuary WHAT: Estuaries have murky water that helps young salmon hide from predators, while supporting a buet of insects and shrimp-like creatures to chow down on. Raincoast, a partner through the Salish Sea Marine Survival Project, is studying just how critical estuary habitat is for Fraser Chinook. Raincoast is embarking on a major restoration eort over the next five years with the help of Coastal Restoration Fund to reconnect Fraser estuary habitats currently disrupted by dikes, jetties and causeways. "We've learned that juveniles from dierent Fraser stocks all use the estuary at dierent times for a pretty extended period, from about March until end of August. When they return as adults, these dierent stocks provide a consistent supply of food for SRKWs when they're in the Strait of Georgia. Our research highlights the significance of estuary habitat and the potential for damage if it's not protected. It also helped us focus our restoration eorts." — Dave Scott, Biologist, Raincoast WHO: Stave Valley Salmonid Enhancement Society WHERE: Silverdale Creek Wetlands/ Mission WHAT: Farming practices in the Silverdale Creek Wetlands have stripped the habitat of its natural diversity – flattening the landscape, planting canary grass to support cattle and stocking ponds with invasive largemouth bass for fishing. "These bass gobble up anything that swims by, including juvenile salmon. So, over the past decade, our volunteers have worked closely with the Fraser Valley Watershed Coalition to create stream channels for salmon, plant dierent types of vegetation and allow the system to flood and drain like it did 10,000 years ago. Now the native fish can migrate before the system drains, and the trapped bass are getting eaten by birds. So many Fraser wetlands have been filled in to create industrial parks, but this is a 112-acre area that's being restored for salmon." — Jim Taylor, Volunteer & Founder, SVSES FVWC and partners conduct the first winter seine to assess fish populations. Dave Scott with a juvenile Chinook. Students release salmon fry raised in the classroom. FOR SALMON PHOTO: JIM TAYLOR PHOTO: ROSS DAVIES PHOTO: FVWC-NATASHIA COX

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