Investigate. Inform. Inspire.
Raincoast is a team of conservationists and scientists empowered by our research to protect the lands, waters and wildlife of coastal British Columbia.
Today, Raincoast takes our work to protect Southern Resident killer whales from the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. Working with Living Oceans Society and our legal team at Ecojustice, we have filed an application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court. We are arguing that the […]
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Pacific salmon, especially Chinook and Chum, reside and feed in estuaries during downstream migrations. But the extent to which they rely on estuaries, and which habitats within estuaries, is not well understood. We need to understand this complexity if we are going to enact effective conservation policies. This is especially important in urban systems where habitat loss is ongoing, and at different rates across the estuarine mosaic. The Fraser River estuary, for example, supports a multitude of fish species…
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The Fraser River in British Columbia remains one of the world’s most productive salmon rivers. Equally significant is the Fraser River’s estuary, which serves as vital habitat for fish, bird, and mammal species that are linked across thousands of kilometers of the Northeast Pacific Ocean. All Fraser River populations of salmon…
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The first phase in Raincoast’s five-year restoration project in the Fraser estuary was making breaches in the Steveston jetty to allow young salmon access to Sturgeon Bank, a safe, marshy habitat that gives them an easier transition from river to ocean…
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Since the removal of sections of the Steveston jetty in February, we have been sampling our new jetty ‘breaches’ and have consistently caught juvenile salmon moving through them! This is a huge success and was realized just weeks after…
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When we began our research in the Fraser estuary in 2016, the presence of multiple barriers, including the Steveston Jetty, became a significant concern. With the announcement of the Coastal Restoration Fund in 2017, an opportunity to begin addressing these barriers appeared…
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While we disagree with the NEB’s conclusion, we acknowledge that their review of the effects on killer whales accurately portrays the complexity and severity of the situation.
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Last week, the government announced fisheries closures in some key Southern Resident foraging areas. While welcome news, the measures only partially address our concerns over food availability and disturbance to endangered killer whales…
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Raincoast and Living Oceans detailed concerns over the use of spawning deterrents in important Chinook salmon spawning area in this letter to the National Energy Board…
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