Salmon Steward

salmon Steward magazine 29 VOICES FOR SALMON S almon stewardship can start at any age, as demonstrated by 12-year-old Aniela Guzikowski of the Mossom Creek Hatchery in Port Moody (operated by the Burrard Inlet Marine Enhancement Society). Aniela comes by her interest and passion honestly; her mum, Vicki Guzikowski, was a student at Centennial High School where the Hatchery co-founders, Rod MacVicar and Ruth Foster, both taught. As Aniela recounts: "My mama has been taking me to community hatchery events for as long as I can remember, and we love seeing the salmon return to spawn each fall. From our first visit to Mossom Creek Hatchery, we knew we'd found our home away from home, and we've been volunteering there ever since." The Mossom Creek Hatchery has been a beneficiary of Community Salmon Program grants since 2010 and has received more than $100,000 in that time. In addition to pitching in at hatchery events including fin clipping and egg takes, Aniela works closely with hatchery manager Neil Laffra every Sunday on day-to-day operations; so much so that Rod and Ruth typically introduce her as the "assistant hatchery manager." Salmon need clean water to thrive. When she learned about the impact of plastic particles from cigarette butts on salmon habitat, Aniela co-founded the ButtFree BC task force, an awareness and education program, in late 2018. "Once we started researching the topic we learned what a big problem this is for clean water," Aniela explains. "In fact, cigarette butts are reported to be one of the largest sources of ocean plastic pollution." U.S.-based researchers have found microplastics from cigarette butts in the stomachs of 70 per cent of seabirds and 30 per cent of sea turtles. Aniela has spoken to local city councils about her project. What's more, in 2019, she appeared on CBC's The Early Edition to share her story and in February 2020, she was a featured speaker at TEDxBearCreekPark. Her goal is to encourage smokers to dispose of their cigarette butts responsibly. PSF is proud to support salmon stewards like Aniela who stand up for clean water and Pacific salmon. Aniela Guzikowski STUDENT STEWARD & "ASSISTANT MANAGER," MOSSOM CREEK HATCHERY A BUDDING CRUSADER FOR CLEAN WATER "A core volunteer at Mossom, Aniela is a consistently helpful and cheerful presence who lights up our Salmon Sunday work parties. She is also an admirably courageous environmental advocate who knows her stuff and speaks out with composure and conviction well beyond her years. Look out, world!" — Ruth Foster, Vice President & Co-founder, Mossom Creek Hatchery

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