Salmon Steward

CAN SALMON ADAPT TO CLIMATE CHANGE? Some populations of Pacific salmon have adjusted the timing of their migration and spawning in response to warmer temperatures. There have also been studies showing some salmon have genetic advantages, like the ability to increase heart rates in response to swimming in warming waters, which requires more energy. But there are limits to how far these responses can go. Adaptation requires time for them to adjust and we need to facilitate that. Canada's Policy for the Conservation of Wild Pacific Salmon is the management framework that can enable Pacific salmon to adapt. Also, restoring habitat provisions in the Fisheries Act was a crucial step. Plus, British Columbia's Water Sustainability Act includes provisions to ensure there is enough water flow for salmon in rivers, which will be invaluable. Salmon can absolutely adapt, but we must give them the opportunity! n DRIVING DONATIONS Climate change is a driving priority for longtime Pacific Salmon Foundation donor Rudy North, who is a major funder of the Salish Sea Marine Survival Project. For the past few years, Rudy has set a $50,000 challenge to encourage year-end donors to give. salmon Steward magazine 23 We need your help! Donate today via psf.ca and help us raise $40,000 for community habitat and enhancement salmon projects. Learn more on p. 21. SALISH SEA MARINE SURVIVAL PROJECT: INVESTIGATING CLIMATE CHANGE Ocean acidification prevents shell-forming marine creatures from building their protective shells. The Project partnered with the Hakai Institute to study potential impacts to salmon food items. Increases to harmful algae blooms are well noted, but their links to climate change remain uncertain. The Project funded Svetlana Esenkulova, who partnered with DFO to study impacts on wild salmon. California has lost up to 93 per cent of vital kelp habitat to warming waters. That's why the Project funded Dr. Sherryl Bisgrove, her SFU research team and Project Watershed to restore and find kelp populations that could be more resilient to temperature increases. Marshes and estuaries provide critical habitat for growing Chinook salmon in the lower Fraser River. That was the finding of the Raincoast Conservation Foundation's study through the Salish Sea Marine Survival Project. The findings prompted more funding through the federal government's Coastal Restoration Fund to restore these Fraser River habitats which are vulnerable to sea level rise. The Seachange Marine Conservation Society conducted eelgrass restoration and marine debris clean-up at 23 sites in the Strait of Georgia through the SSMSP. The Society will continue work in 25 more sites over the next five years with funding from the Coastal Restoration Fund. Sites were chosen based on many factors, including their sensitivity to increased sea level rise under climate change. The Foundation funds groups like the Fanny Bay Enhancement Society during summer to save fry stranded by low water conditions.

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