About the Shoreline Mapping Initiative
The Resilient Coasts for Salmon initiative has completed a five-year effort (2021 to 2026) to map shoreline features of concern along the eastern coast of Vancouver Island. These features include shoreline modifications (such as seawalls and riprap), overwater structures (including piers and docks), and log accumulation. Man-made structures and excessive log buildup can disrupt natural coastal processes, degrade habitat quality, and impact species that rely on nearshore environments, including Pacific salmon. Learn more about the effects of these features below.
The Shoreline Mapping Atlas serves as a central platform to support researchers, planners, and community members in making informed decisions to promote sustainable coastal development, healthy ecosystems, and resilient shorelines.
Shoreline Mapping Results:
- Explore Resilient Coasts for Salmon data layers, including Shoreline Modifications, Overwater Structures, and Log Accumulation.
- Overlay additional layers, including forage fish spawning habitat and sensitivity to sea level rise, to analyze our data within a broader context.
- Download datasets for further research and decision-making.
Additional Results:
- Community Reports to explore key findings from communities on the East Coast of Vancouver Island.
- Coastal Adaptation Reports to learn about strategies employed at the local governments scale in the Capital Regional District and Islands Trust regions.
Resilient Coasts for Salmon Layers:
As a part of our mapping initiative, we are focused on tracking three main feature types:
Shoreline Modifications
Man-made structures like seawalls and riprap, often built to protect shoreline infrastructure, can actually exacerbate erosion by redirecting wave energy to nearby areas. These modifications also remove key intertidal habitats and food sources essential for the growth and survival of juvenile salmon and forage fish. By stripping away the natural complexity of coastal ecosystems, shoreline modifications reduce their capacity to support biodiversity and adapt to rising sea levels.
Overwater Structures
Overwater structures, like docks and piers, cast heavy shade that degrades nearshore habitat. Juvenile salmon avoid these shaded areas, which alters their natural foraging and migration patterns by forcing them into deeper waters. There, they expend more energy and face greater predation risk. The reduced light also limits the growth of essential habitats like eelgrass and algae, along with the diverse communities they support.
Log Accumulation
While logs are a natural part of coastal ecosystems, the escape of modified logs from log booms is leading to excessive accumulation. These logs can scour beaches, altering sediment composition and smothering nearshore vegetation. Unlike natural logs, modified logs are stripped of root balls and branches, making them unstable and prone to rolling across critical habitats that juvenile salmon and forage fish rely on for growth, food, and shelter.
To learn more about the impacts of shoreline modifications in the face of rising sea levels, check out our Climate Change Primer.
Learn more about Wilbur:
To build the Resilient Coasts for Salmon datasets, we conducted boat-based mapping using the Pacific Salmon Foundation’s 16-ft research vessel, Wilbur captained by photographer Mitch Miller!
From Victoria to Port McNeill, Wilbur cruised along the east coast of Vancouver Island, capturing imagery to support this project. Outfitted with two cameras, Wilbur recorded both 360 degree and high resolution images of the shoreline. The imagery collected is linked with the boat’s GPS and can be mapped. In areas where Wilbur couldn’t navigate close enough to shore, additional imagery was collected by tender, kayak, and on foot.
Explore Our Map
The map widgets in the sidebar can help you navigate the data and optimize your interactive experience. For additional guidance, please refer to our User Guide ADD LINK. We recommend using Google Chrome on a laptop or desktop for the best viewing experience.
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This map showcases the shoreline imagery that was used to build the Resilient Coasts for Salmon data layers. We are committed to the respectful and appropriate use of this imagery. If you notice any images that you would like removed or blurred, please contact us at . Your feedback is essential to the success of our mapping initiative. To share your thoughts, suggestions, and technical difficulties, please fill out our Feedback form.
Access the Data
Click the button below to access the Resilient Coasts for Salmon datasets in the Marine Data Portal. Here, you can download our data layers in various formats for your use. You’ll also find our protocols, which explain how the data was digitized, as well as data dictionaries that define key terminology. We encourage you to stay in touch and share how you’re utilizing the data!
To access datasets from external sources, click on a point within the desired layer on the interactive map. Then, scroll down in the pop-up window to find the ‘Access Layer Data’ button.
Community Reports
Click the squares below to read community reports and explore our findings for your community.
Coastal Adaptation Reports
Check out the reports below that explore what coastal adaptation strategies the Capital Regional District (CRD) and Islands Trust regions have in place, and what have been barriers they face to implementing nature-based approaches in those communities
Additional Resources / Future Recommendations / /
- Marine Ecosystem Map: this is an interactive web-based data visualization platform, complete with over 450 layers of marine and coastal data for you to explore.
- Shore Zone: this initiative utilizes aerial surveys to inventory geomorphological and biological features of the shoreline.
- Maybe we could use the CRIMS https://maps.gov.bc.ca/ess/hm/crims/
- Newsletter: Shoreline modification impacts on salmon: ???
- Newsletter Vol. 3: Nature-based solutions for climate change:
- Climate Change Primer:
- Toolkits:
- Field Guide to Shoreline Mapping:
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The Mapping Initiative Team
Meet the team of dedicated individuals that are responsible for making this project possible. Click here to learn about other individuals who played key roles in different aspects of the Resilient Coasts for Salmon initiative.
Kyla Sheehan
Project Manager
Kyla is responsible for leading the Resilient Coasts for Salmon community outreach components and the mapping initiative.
Maria Catanzaro
Project Coordinator
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Mitch Miller
Photographer
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Isobel Pearsall
Former Director of PSF Marine Science Program
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Taylor Gardiner
Research Assistant
Taylor joined the Resilient Coasts team in 2025 as a Co-op student from the University of Victoria.
During her 4-month term, she was responsible for creating the Resilient Coasts for Salmon Atlas page and Interactive Map, helping to transform geospatial data into an accessible and engaging resource for a wide audience.
Taylor has now completed her Bachelor of Science in Biology at UVIC, with a concentration in Marine Biology and Ocean Sciences.
Jerlyn Brutas
Research Assistant
Jerlyn was a part of the Resilient Coasts team for 8 months in 2024.
As part of her UBC Science co-op work terms, Jerlyn produced two reports detailing coastal adaptation strategies and barriers to nature-based adaptation at the local government level. Jerlyn conducted interviews with local government staff, and poured over documents such as Official Community Plans for both the Capital Regional District, as well as the Islands Trust region. You can view these Coastal Adaptation Reports above.
Sophie Weissfloch
Research Assistant
As part of a co-op work term at the American University of Paris, Sophie helped the team add important data layers to the Shoreline Mapping Initiative. With Sophie’s help, we developed methodology for, and began digitizing log accumulation on beaches, as well as overwater structures throughout the shorelines of eastern Vancouver Island.
Wilbur
Research Vessel
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Funders & Collaborators
Resilient Coasts for Salmon is a collaborative initiative led by the Pacific Salmon Foundation with contributors such as the Stewardship Centre for British Columbia, World Wildlife Fund – Canada, Peninsula Streams and Shorelines, and many others. Resilient Coasts for Salmon is funded in part by the Government of Canada.
