Dave Scott | Raincoast Conservation Foundation

Monitoring an active restoration project… in a pandemic

Published on 2020 09 15 | by David Scott, Raincoast Lower Fraser Salmon Program Coordinator | in Notes from the Field

Dave Scott holding viewfinder with salmon smolt

Just as we were getting excited about starting our field season to monitor the effectiveness of Raincoast’s Fraser Estuary Connectivity Project, conditions with the pandemic began to get serious and we realized our plans had to change…

Terminal 2 expansion threatens the Fraser estuary

Published on 2020 05 27 | by Misty MacDuffee, Wild Salmon Program Director & Dave Scott, Research and Restoration Coordinator for the Lower Fraser Salmon Program | in Conservation update

Terminal 2 at the end of a long causeway, with Vancouver Island in the distance.

The Port of Vancouver is proposing to double the size of its shipping terminal beside the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal, putting further stress on an estuary that has already lost more than 70% of its natural habitat…

Research: Habitat use by juvenile salmon, other migratory fish, and resident fish species underscores the importance of estuarine habitat mosaics

Published on 2019 09 09 | by Raincoast | in Scientific Literature

An expansive view of a Raincoast scientist working in the field in the Fraser River estuary.

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…

Terminal 2 expansion at Roberts Bank jeopardizes salmon recovery efforts

Published on 2019 08 23 | by Chris Genovali, Executive Director | in For the coast

A container ship get loaded at a terminal near Vancouver.

Given the ecological challenges that Fraser River salmon, including juvenile salmon, face at this point in history, now is not the time to increase pressure on their rearing grounds in the Fraser estuary by increasing the footprint of the Terminal 2 project on Roberts Bank….

A jetty runs through it: restoring lost connectivity in the Fraser River estuary

Published on 2018 03 30 | by Misty MacDuffee, Wild Salmon Program Director & Dave Scott, Research and Restoration Coordinator for the Lower Fraser Salmon Program | in Notes from the Field

Dave Scott holds up a tiny salmon in the Fraser rive while he takes measurements

An amazing spring research season has begun. There was snow, and then suddenly we were in our boats with nets and buckets catching the year’s first juvenile salmon. This year brings renewed enthusiasm as we embark on a big plan to restore connectivity and natural processes on the delta of the Fraser River estuary…

Three months in the Fraser River estuary

Published on 2016 07 09 | by Raincoast | in Notes from the Field

Sunset over Fraser River estuary, showing important fish and wildlife habitat

We have been out on the vast flats of the Fraser River estuary with purse seine and beach seine nets to document the arrival and use of different habitats by juvenile salmon.