I'm bringing you on an adventure #insearchofthesockeye where I'm following this year's record breaking sockeye salmon run up our Fraser River. I've INTRODUCED you to this species and this year's run, SHOWED YOU the best places to buy it, TOOK YOU FISHING and today I'm shining light on some folks who help ensure the future of these fish. There are a number of different organizations helping salmon in BC; The Steelhead Society of BC, Save Our Salmon, BC Conservation Foundation and Watershed Watch are a few that come to mind. The one doing the majority of the work, which is especially close to my heart (I'm one of their many volunteers), is the Pacific Salmon Foundation.
Headquartered in Kitsilano, the PSF was created in 1987 as "an independent, non-governmental, charitable organization to protect, conserve and rebuild Pacific Salmon populations in British Columbia and the Yukon". Their mission is to "be the trusted voice for conservation and restoration of wild Pacific salmon and their ecosystems and works to bring salmon back stream by stream through the strategic use of resources and local communities". During their 25th anniversary a couple years back they released this video about their history and the work they do to make sure our future will hold salmon runs like the big sockeye one happening right now...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD8CdOT0aCE
To date they've given a total of $41.3 million in project awards and grants to a total of 2,262 projects. More than 35,000 volunteers in 72 BC communities have helped rehabilitate more than 1.1 million square metres of streams and estuaries, planted 78,665 trees and shrubs in riparian areas and produced more than 11.3 million juvenile salmon through conservation hatcheries. That's really awesome.
While their work is largely made up of helping restore waterways they also fund scientific research (such as their latest $10m Salish Sea Marine Survival Project) as well as educate the public about the importance of salmon as a keystone species. As their CEO Brian Ridell (who is also on V.I.A.'s Advisory Board) states, "Maintaining the connection between people and salmon" is the key to the PSF's future. I saw that in action this past weekend as I visited the launch of the Salute to the Sockeye festival on the Adams River. This is the river where a great deal of the Fraser sockeye that weren't caught by commercial operations and sportfishermen (like me) make their way to over a 17 day journey. The spawning beds are located in Roderick Haig-Brown provincial park and every four years a festival is thrown in their honour. Hundreds of thousands of people visit the park to witness it, and the PSF is one of its major sponsors. They're spending this week (Oct 4-11) up there doing talks and celebrating the brand new viewing deck that they funded.
The Salute to the Sockeye festival goes until October 26th and it is THE place to view the salmon. People have been asking me where the best place to see the salmon running is in Vancouver and the answer is, quite simply, there isn't one. Even when I took you FISHING on the Fraser the only time you'd see a fish was when someone caught one. You've got to get your butt up to the festival where, at its peak, the run looks like the photo below.
Photo: courtesy PSF
My next post will bring you up to the Adams River to experience it, just in case you can't make it before October 26th.
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This series is sponsored by Pacific Angler, Vancouver’s store for the fishing enthusiast. If you’re looking for a specific fishing item or planning your next (or first!) fishing trip, their knowledgeable and friendly staff can provide you with the information you need. They also offer a comprehensive and broad range of seminars, courses and fully guided trips for anglers new and old. Visit them at 78 E Broadway and pacificangler.ca |
