New animations tackling complicated conservation topics around wild salmon to be released on Earth Day
The release of the videos intentionally coincides with Earth Day as many wild Pacific salmon are in peril.

Sidney, BC: Raincoast Conservation Foundation has released a series of animated videos that explore the cumulative effects facing wild Pacific salmon. Raincoast’s salmon scientists worked with a local animator to create short videos that explain the threat that mixed-stock fisheries and hatcheries pose to wild salmon populations. The animations explore the nuances of these practices and identify solutions in a visually engaging and entertaining way.
Earth Day is an annual event celebrated on April 22 to raise awareness about environmental issues, biodiversity, and climate change. This Earth Day, Raincoast is highlighting wild Pacific salmon in our animated series, “Ripple Effect,” to highlight the role wild salmon play as a foundation species. Foundation species are those that support ecosystem structure and process, as well as organisms from the bottom up.
The videos focus on hatcheries and mixed-stock fisheries – two complicated and problematic topics for wild Pacific salmon.
Hatcheries have allowed us to produce fish artificially without needing to address the underlying causes for wild salmon decline. Hatcheries were developed with a poor understanding of the implications of artificial salmon production on the survival of wild salmon.
Mixed-stock fisheries have contributed to the depleted state of many populations, but have continued for decades because hatchery fish temporarily maintained catches.
If we wish to recover wild salmon – and all their benefits to humans, wildlife, and ecosystems – we need to manage salmon differently. These videos explore ways to do this.