Storytelling

Citizen scientists collect information in different areas of the Strait of Georgia with the goal of increasing our collective understanding of variables that drive salmon and steelhead survival in saltwater.

The effects of climate change are unequivocally one of the greatest threats to wild Pacific salmon. Increased frequency of heatwaves and storm events, reduced glacier input in freshwater streams and changing physicochemical properties in the Pacific Ocean are just some of the many issues adversely affecting salmon.

Chinook and coho salmon play a key role being a source of nutrients for a variety of species including other fish, orcas, birds of prey, seals, and trees on the banks of spawning rivers. As such, the health of salmon populations are key to the overall ecological health of the Salish Sea.

Forage fish are small schooling fish that play a crucial role in the marine food web, directly feeding many marine animals including orcas, birds, and salmon. Their role as prey underpins the health of our ocean ecosystems and their importance to the survival of salmon populations in the Salish Sea.

The European green crab (EGC) is a small coastal crab that has had major negative impacts on the marine environment. It is an invasive species that has been spreading over the last couple decades and is considered one of the 10 most unwanted species in the world.

The PSF Marine Science Program has been investigating and working towards ways to improve the future for Pacific salmon, and many of our objectives align with the Province’s proposed Coastal Marine Strategy.

Through the Salish Sea Marine Survival Project multiple novel techniques were developed and utilized to determine salmon health, survival, and habitat conditions.

The Salish Sea Marine Survival Project is to date the largest and most important research of its kind in the shared waters of British Columbia and Washington State. Headed by Pacific Salmon Foundation and Long Live the Kings, collaborators worked over five years towards addressing uncertainty impeding salmon recovery and sustainable fisheries through restoration and research.

The Data Centre was built as a centralized repository for data for the Strait of Georgia ecosystems, preserving datasets and making them accessible. Data are brought to life through interactive and visual products enhancing the understanding of science and the environment.

Decades of research has shown that log booms stored in estuaries negatively impact salmon and local ecosystems. It is important to find ways to work together with the forestry companies find alternatives such as using dryland sorting facilities, moving existing log booms to deeper waters, and expanding log boom operations to locations with less critical habitat for salmon.

Coastal modification reduces habitat availability for species like Pacific salmon. The Pacific Salmon Foundations’ Resilient Coasts for Salmon project works with communities to increase coastal resilience by protecting coastal infrastructure in a way that preserves and restores natural shoreline habitat.