RESILIENT COASTS FOR SALMON SPOTLIGHT COMMUNITIES
Port McNeill
Port McNeill is a small coastal town on the northeastern shore of Vancouver Island. Its rugged shoreline and adjacent estuarine waters provide critical habitat for kelp forests, salmon, and associated coastal species.
For the purposes of the Resilient Coasts for Salmon initiative, the Port McNeill study area covers 6 km of marine shoreline along Queen Charlotte Strait, with data derived from imagery collected up to 2024.
Port McNeill is located within the traditional and unceded Territory of the Kwakwaka’wakw peoples.
Key Findings
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.
Extent of shoreline modification
As of 2024, approximately 3,735 m of Port McNeill’s shoreline has been modified, while 2,637 m remains natural. This indicates that roughly 59% of the community’s shoreline is classified as modified – Figure 1.
Figure 1. Coastal modifications (shown in blue) with the extent of data collection outlined by red dashes.
Most common shoreline modification types
The most common modification types were logging infrastructure (59.6%), seawalls/bulkheads (15.3%), and marina (9%) – see Figure 2.
Figure 2. The percentage of modified shoreline by modification type.
Most common materials used in shoreline modifications
The materials most commonly used for shoreline modification were unknown/undefined (51.7%), concrete (22.2%), and rock (21.6%) – see Table 1. The unknown/undefined category indicates that the recorder was not able to determine the material that was used, due to issues with image clarity or obstruction, or in cases when a mix of materials were used. See the comments section for more details on each feature.
Table 1. The percentage of modifications, based on the type of material used in the modifications.
| Material | Percentage of Modifications |
| Unknown/Undefined | 51.7 |
| Concrete | 22.2 |
| Rock | 21.6 |
| Wood/Cresote Wood | 4.5 |
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.
Number of overwater structures total and by type
As of 2024, the total number of overwater structures in Port McNeill is 14, consisting primarily of creosote pilings (6), industrial overwater structures (3), and docks (2) – see Figure 3.
Figure 3. The extent of overwater structures within Port McNeill.
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.
For the results below, about 20% (1.3km) of the shoreline was not digitized for log accumulation either due to lack of shoreline imagery or it being First Nation reserve land.
Extent of log accumulation
Of the total shoreline, 4.1% (261 m) was found to have a high accumulation (50 to 89% coverage) of logs, with 20.2% (1,270 m) having moderate levels (20% to 49%) of the beach covered by logs – see Table 2. It should be noted that the moderate log accumulation category also represents a significant coverage of logs – whereby 20-49% log coverage on a given beach could negatively impact shoreline habitat.
Table 2. The length of shoreline (in percentage and metres) by category of log accumulation.
| Log Accumulation | Percentage of Shoreline | Metres |
| Extreme (>89%) | 0 | 0 |
| High (50 to 89%) | 4.1 | 261 |
| Moderate (20 to 49%) | 20.2 | 1,270 |
| Low/None (<20%) | 55.8 | 3,555 |
| Unknown | 19.9 | 1,270 |
Mobility of Logs
Most (47.7%) of the shoreline where there were logs had only mobile logs present, with an additional 31.3% had both mobile and anchored logs present on the beaches.
To access and download the Resilient Coasts for Salmon layers for Port McNeill, click here.