Graham Dorsay

$1.3 million restoration project to revive Vancouver Island Chinook

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A threatened population of Chinook salmon will get a major boost from significant restoration work in the Nootka Sound region of Vancouver Island. The new project is improving spawning habitat at the outflow area of Muchalat Lake, a remote area about 90 kilometres west of Campbell River.
Redd Fish Restoration Society/Tom Balfour

Mapping the Impact of the Community Salmon Program

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In the 35 years since its inception, the Pacific Salmon Foundation’s Community Salmon Program (CSP) has distributed $31 million in grants to more than 3,500 projects across B.C. and the Yukon. The funding program provides grants to streamkeepers, First Nations, schools, and conservation organizations by stewarding Salmon Conservation Stamp funds on behalf of DFO.
A group of researchers samples the Chase River for contaminants near a bridge. Photo: Vancouver Island University

Tire contaminant research hits the road

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When rain hits the east coast of Vancouver Island, Haley Tomlin and Erik Krogh might have to pull an all-nighter — all for salmon. “We do it in the name of science,” says Krogh, a chemistry professor and director of the Applied Environmental Research Laboratories at Vancouver Island University.

Finding the ‘cold’ in the Coldwater River

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What connects British Columbia’s lush west coast to the arid, dry Nicola Valley in the Southern Interior? Look no further than the Pacific salmon migration. As salmon travel from the coast into the Nicola Valley, they bring an important pulse of nutrients inland. The Coldwater River, the largest tributary of the Nicola River, is critical for both juvenile and adult salmon.

where cottonwoods grow, salmon follow

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The Deadman River, located in the traditional lands of the Skeetchestn Indian Band, near Kamloops Lake, is an area where cottonwoods have vanished due to industrial development and climate change. The Deadman is a key tributary to the Thompson River, providing valuable habitat for pink, coho, steelhead, and Chinook salmon.

Putting sustainable B.C. salmon fisheries first

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Choosing sustainable, wild-caught salmon in British Columbia just got easier for Canadians, thanks to new Ocean Wise recommendations.
Credit University of Michigan

Keeping invasive threats to salmon out of B.C.

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A parasitic disease that can be lethal for juvenile salmon has been recently detected in British Columbia.

The herring comeback in Howe Sound

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With support from PSF’s Community Salmon Program, the Howe Sound Marine Stewardship Initiative is expanding its long-term dataset on herring spawn distribution, abundance, and timing.

What makes a salmon survivor?

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The salmon life cycle is one of nature’s most extraordinary spectacles. Yet the migratory nature of salmon is both its greatest marvel and its biggest mystery – this vast journey makes studying salmon survival at different life stages incredibly challenging.

Survival at Sea

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The future of Chinook salmon from the west coast of Vancouver Island (WCVI) hangs in the balance. They are currently threatened and at risk of becoming endangered, according to the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. The…
Tagging salmon for catch and release study in British Columbia

Rethinking Release Strategies

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Sturgeon Bank — a stretch of the Fraser River delta located off the west coast of Richmond, British Columbia — has lost at least 160 hectares of tidal marsh habitat over the last three decades due to dredging, dikes, and other human interventions.

River flows restored just in time for returning sockeye

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During the extreme flooding event in November 2021 that severely impacted the Fraser Valley, the right arm of Big Silver River was blocked by debris and disconnected from Harrison Lake when water levels dropped in the summer months.