Salmon Steward

HEALTHY HABITATS = HEALTHY SALMON A recurring theme from the SSMSP's findings is that wild salmon need healthy, interconnected habitats that protect them from the time they emerge out of gravel to the period they migrate downstream and into estuaries. SSMSP results revealed significant salmon losses in rivers due to predators including herons, mergansers, raccoons and bull trout. Historical depletion of side channel habitat coupled with lower flows in rivers resulting from climate change has left juvenile salmon more exposed. Young salmon need side channels with low-hanging vegetation that provide refuge from the fast-flowing waters of the mainstem and protection LEAVE A LEGACY IN THE SALISH SEA Crucial ongoing SSMSP programs need your support Your donation will be matched thanks to a $50,000 incentive fund set up by the Sitka Foundation. If you donate $100 or more or become a monthly donor at $10 or more per month, you could win a package donated by Stanley and Pro Line Sports (see sidebar) 20 2019 psf.ca I n the mid-1990s the catch of wild Coho, Chinook and Steelhead in the Strait of Georgia abruptly and mysteriously declined by 90 per cent. The Salish Sea Marine Survival Project focuses on this decline to determine what now limits salmon production and what can be done to restore abundance. The Pacific Salmon Foundation has identified a priority list of ongoing projects to benefit salmon now and in the future. Please give generously today via psf.ca or the attached formvelope and help us raise $100,000. Volunteers are hauling up tonnes of marine debris, like this abandoned boat, that is damaging nearshore habitat in estuary sites around the Strait of Georgia. Once debris is removed, divers will replant eelgrass beds, which are prime habitat for juvenile salmon. from predators. Riparian plant cover is also vital for keeping the water shaded and cool. Once the young salmon reach estuaries, healthy eelgrass and kelp habitat become vitally important for shelter and food supply as juveniles fatten up for their ocean journey. The Pacific Salmon Foundation is already partnering with volunteer organizations that are building side channels, revitalizing streamside plant habitats, and restoring nearshore eelgrass beds and kelp forests in sites surrounding the Strait of Georgia. Many of these projects are supported by grants through our Community Salmon Program. Every dollar you donate for our community grants triggers, on average, another seven through community leveraging! SUPPORTING CITIZEN SCIENTISTS Many readers may remember "The Warm Blob" that dominated headlines in the past few years. In the salmon world, it meant Seachange Conservation Society is cleaning up and restoring eelgrass beds in 25 estuary sites around the Strait of Georgia over the next five years. To date, the volunteer organization has removed tonnes of marine debris from Clam Bay, Genoa Bay, Medicine Beach, Porpoise Bay and Tod Inlet (see p. 28).

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