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The Best Weekly Media Round-up of Stories about Salmon and their Habitats
Salmon News
Top 10

“...inland Fraser-Thompson and steelhead issues are not adequately represented by people on your group,” said Don Trethewey, a recreational angler and regional director for the B.C. Federation of Drift Fishers, noting the group is lacking in representation from the region, a common complaint among speakers.
Cheryl Ashlie, Alouette River Management Society president, writes about the fight to protect Herrling and Carey Island from development. (Find our more at www.heartofthefraser.ca)
Black bears need access to different species of salmon rather than huge numbers of a single variety in order to be healthy, a new study by Canadian researchers indicates.
For years, Oregon and Washington have been searching for the best way to catch more hatchery fish while letting the wild fish return unharmed to their spawning grounds. Now, one group says they've found it.
Jennifer Wickham, a spokeswoman for the Wet’suwet’en nation, said that its hereditary chiefs have a duty to care for the land and to protect salmon spawning grounds.

In an unprecedented move, the Dzawada’enuzw nation is claiming in court that farming Atlantic salmon — which often carry disease — in their traditional waters constitutes a violation of Aboriginal rights
Marine Mammal Research Unit director Andrew Trites said the reports are the best piece of news he could imagine hearing for the Southern Resident killer whales.
The federal government has launched a new $2-million project to restore marine habitat in the Fraser River estuary in the hopes of boosting the survival numbers of chinook and other Pacific salmon, which are a crucial part of the diet of the endangered southern resident killer whales.

The world's foremost racial discrimination committee says Canada must work with Indigenous communities to find an alternative to the $10.7 billion hydro project in B.C.

Research has found that liquids released from fracked oil and gas wells can harm fish even at low concentrations
Opinion

The facts about aboriginal rights and title support the Wet’suwet’en peoples in their pipeline protest.
An email from former Steelhead Society president and the founder of that tough little advocacy group, Watershed Watch, Dr. Craig Orr, put in me in good spirits when it landed in my in box before Christmas.
Watershed Watch ED Aaron Hill and his sister Julia Hill penned this tribute to their conservationist father, the late Bruce Hill.
 Re: “Ways to boost wild salmon stocks on meeting agenda."  The article lists eight strategies that could be employed. One more could be added: Banning high-elevation logging.
"Whistler has budgeted $1.46 million for community wildfire protection in its budget, for example. Bellringer's report reveals that it would cost approximately $9.5 billion to address sea level rise and seismic upgrades to dikes along the Metro Vancouver shoreline and the Fraser River shore, while a major Fraser River flood could cost between $19.3 and $22.9 billion."

When the Mount Polley Mine dam collapsed, a vast muddy torrent of pollution pounded down Hazeltine Creek into Quesnel Lake. But that wasn’t the only major hemorrhage. The drain on your tax dollars is large too — and could grow far larger. B.C.
British Columbia
It was heralded as a conservation coup, yet one First Nation finds its land — set within the region’s boundaries — facing the threat of increased logging.
Conservancy Hornby Island, a small volunteer non-profit organization on Hornby Island, is asking the federal government to put a moratorium on its Pacific herring roe fishery planned for March.
Aaron Hill, Watershed Watch executive director, said in an interview that the advisory council appears skewed in favour of the fishing industry and lacks sufficient representation from scientists and conservation groups.
Urgent action has been approved to protect homes at risk of slope erosion in the Shuswap.
Drone master Keith Holmes documents an enormous jellyfish bloom in British Columbia.
A Dine Out pop-up raises awareness of sustainable seafood.
The City of Terrace is reviewing its emergency response procedures to railway accidents. “CN and Transport Canada have not sufficiently outlined the level of risk to people and water resources," says Greg Knox, SkeenaWild Conservation Trust.
Laichwiltach chief, residents gather in support of Wet'suwet'en jurisdiction over traditional territories.

A petition has been sent to the House of Commons to restrict the use of gill nets on the lower Fraser River. Data shows the nets are a contributing factor to sturgeon deaths.
The B.C. government is investing in aquaculture.
Local conservationists laud agreement to close fish farms.
Atlantic salmon are ‘thriving’ in research facility in Norwegian Sea, says aquaculture company.

Bald eagles are one of the animal kingdom's most majestic creatures. Have a look at where to see hundreds of them near Vancouver.
Dating back to 3800 years before the present, the garden was once under water, in an ecologically rich wetland. And it shows sign of sophisticated engineering techniques used to control the flow of water to more efficiently grow wild wapato tubers, also known as Indian potatoes.

Conservationists photographed unique Sitka spruce and mossy bigleaf maples outside Port Renfrew B.C. in its latest bid to draw attention to its desire for enhanced protections for old growth forests in the province.

Theft and damage to Duck Lake hatchery in Powell River could lead to far fewer fish in the ocean. The Powell River Salmon Society warns the loss of 700,000 newly-hatched chum due to the vandalism could mean B.C. salmon runs 4 years from now will be much lower.
There are fears asbestos-laced sediment deposited on the banks of the Sumas River could be stirred up by the wind or human activity and be inhaled.
Noise levels in the ocean can be reduced with relatively small interventions.

Tripling of capacity on pipeline from Alberta to B.C. would increase tanker traffic nearly sevenfold to more than 400 annual visits to Burnaby terminus
 Not only was the local Chum salmon return very low in 2018, but the spawning season was unusually early and short, according to Tenderfoot Creek Hatchery's annual report.
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Canada

After being halted by controversy in 2016, there'll be some new rules and regulations when the Dildo Pond fishing derby resumes this year.
United States
The ongoing partial shutdown of the federal government has idled permit writers who are under a looming deadline to complete Idaho’s steelhead fishery permit.
2018 was a mixed year for Alaska salmon.
Allowable fishing for chinook salmon in the waters of Canada and Southeast Alaska will be cut back significantly this year as a result of a revised 10-year Pacific Salmon Treaty between the United States and Canada.
Cataloguing island salmon species helps to inform restoration efforts meant to support them.

Just over a year ago, Gov. Jay Inslee launched his “Washington Maritime Blue” initiative. It aims to make the state’s seafaring sector the most sustainable

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has started killing sea lions below Willamette Falls to protect a fragile run of winter steelhead.
Maine fisheries managers are looking to make a number of changes to aquaculture rules in the state, and are asking for feedback from the industry and the public about the potential changes.

The disparities revealed in a new, interactive mapping tool reinforce the need for environmental policies that suit the communities most at risk.
A German engineering company called Next Generation Cargo is planning to farm Atlantic salmon aboard the world’s largest sailboats by the year 2023.
Boots on, shovels in hand, a group of about 35 volunteers trudged along the muddy banks of Salmon Creek on the brisk morning of Jan. 12 to plant Sitka spruce trees and snowberry shrubs.
Part four of a series of stories on business solutions to climate change.
International
An analysis concluded that Earth’s oceans are heating up 40 percent faster on average than a United Nations panel estimated five years ago, a finding with dire implications for climate change.
Throw-away plastic items such as straws and polystyrene cups will be banned in the European Union by 2021, EU officials agreed on Wednesday, as they passed measures to cut plastic use in a bid to reduce marine litter.
The last remaining active salmon netting station in Angus has been bought out in a historic deal river bosses hope will help reverse the decline in fish numbers.
Scientist Brad Lister returned to Puerto Rican rainforest after 35 years to find 98% of ground insects had vanished.
Derry man Michael McCann catches and releases 5lb fish on Donegal river on Jan 1st.

From western Australia's Fitzroy River to India's sacred River Ganges, the River Monsters presenter reveals his favourite waterways around the world - and the best way to see them.
Anglers marked the opening of the new salmon fishing season on the River Tay more in hope than expectation, after what is thought to have been the worst season on record in 2018.
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