Restoring marsh habitat in the Fraser River Estuary

When I tell friends and family I study and work in the field of salmon conservation, I assume their perception of my work is quite different from reality. People ask if I get to fish for a living, investigate salmon evading killer whales in the ocean or monitor adults spawning upriver. Most of us can easily conjure the image of a grizzly bear heroically snatching a jumping salmon in a fast-flowing river; these images of charismatic species foster our passion for their conservation. 

But before Fraser River salmon become adults, they start their migratory journey by emerging as tiny fry from their spawning grounds and moving through the highly degraded Lower Mainland of British Columbia. While many field biologists trek into remote areas with little cell phone service and recurrent bears, most of the sites that we sample for our Lower Fraser Research and Restoration Program are a 40-minute drive from downtown Vancouver (depending on traffic). 

We dodge log booms, shipping containers, and, unfortunately, a lot of garbage and pollution with the aim of investigating juvenile salmon and monitoring their use of habitat in this complex area.  

It may not be pretty, but one of my favorite sites is a little patch of marsh directly below the heavily trafficked Oak Street bridge. To access the water, we move around old electronics and trash while chatting over the sound of planes landing and departing from nearby YVR. We pull a beach seine by hand and eagerly investigate the net to see what has been captured. 

Despite so much industrial development and habitat degradation in the area, this site has teemed with salmon this year. In April, our crew had a hallmark event where we pulled in around 1,300 individual salmon in one small set, consisting of Chinook, chum, sockeye, and pink salmon species. 

This abundance is surprising given the degradation of this area, but it does show the resilience of these species to survive in extremely poor conditions.  

With new funding from the Aquatic Ecosystems Restoration Fund (AERF), we are currently monitoring the status of small patches of marsh habitat while developing restoration projects in the Fraser River Estuary. 

Marsh habitat in the estuary is important for out-migrating salmon because it provides an abundant food source, refuge from predators, and has ideal water conditions for these fish before they enter the ocean. 

Marsh habitat along the river is scarce, meaning the habitat suitable for salmon is generally flush with most species of Pacific salmon at different times of the season. Eventually, we hope to restore connections between channels, removing unnecessary relics of human-made structures, and planting native vegetation with the aim of making them more accessible to out-migrating salmon. 

So, while this area is far from idyllic, the river and estuary have a significant role in the life cycle of salmon and there is a great opportunity to improve this habitat. I feel extremely lucky to work towards making these improvements in the Fraser River Estuary for these small and tenacious fish.

You can help

Raincoast’s in-house scientists, collaborating graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and professors make us unique among conservation groups. We work with First Nations, academic institutions, government, and other NGOs to build support and inform decisions that protect aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, and the wildlife that depend on them. We conduct ethically applied, process-oriented, and hypothesis-driven research that has immediate and relevant utility for conservation deliberations and the collective body of scientific knowledge.

We investigate to understand coastal species and processes. We inform by bringing science to decision-makers and communities. We inspire action to protect wildlife and wildlife habitats.