The Government of Canada and the Government of BC is giving approximately $522,000 over three years to the Squamish River Watershed Society.
The society will use the funding to restore fish passage and increase productivity in Chinook salmon by reducing obstructions along the Elaho River.
The project will reduce obstructions and provide fish access to over 40 kilometers of ideal fish habitat in the upper section of the watershed, improving the natural productivity of char and salmonids including chinook, coho, pink salmon and steelhead.
Squamish Nation, Tenderfoot Hatchery, Pacific Salmon Foundation, DFO’s Resource Restoration Unit, and BC Ministry of Forests will partner with the society on the project.
The Squamish project is among seven projects in the province that have received funding from the Ministry of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard and the British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund.
About $3 million in funding will be delivered over five years to support these projects that are aimed at restoring salmon habitats.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada said salmon are a part of intricate food webs and affec everything from tiny zooplankton, to large mammals like whales and bears, to birds of prey.
“Wild salmon are culturally important for many First Nations in British Columbia. Wild salmon is also part of the province’s long-running tradition of recreational and sport fishing, which is directly connected to its tourism industry,” the ministry said.
The University of British Columbia (UBC) has been granted approximately $165,000 to conduct research to improve understanding of the changing ecosystem facing out-migrating juvenile salmon in the Strait of Georgia.
Pacific Salmon Foundation, which is based in Vancouver, will receive approximately $650,000 over two years to conduct winter trawl sample surveys in the Gulf of Alaska to study the abundance, health, and habitat use of Pacific salmonids during winter conditions.
