fraser river

You may know that the endangered Southern Resident killer whales rely on Chinook salmon for food, especially from the Fraser River. Did you know, however, a recent study has found there is significant variation amongst Fraser River Chinook in how fat (high quality) these fish are? This, in turn,  affects the energetic value of these fish to SRKWs. Jacob Lerner, a PhD Candidate from the University of British Columbia, discusses these findings and how they might be impacting SRKW foraging patterns and even the ability of SRKWs to recover as a population.  

Aaron sat down with Marvin Rosenau to learn about the current state of the Fraser River. The river has been impacted by over-fishing, larger dykes, and floods. Marvin is a biologist that has spent years studying the fish populations and habitats. In this conversation he explains the damage and risks the Fraser River faces.

Marvin is an instructor in the Fish Wildlife and Recreation Program (FWR) at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT).  At BCIT he teaches Fish Ecology and Management as well as Environmental Monitoring at the second year level. Marvin has had a 35-year history of working in freshwater fisheries in the province of British Columbia.  This includes stints as a consultant, in academia, with the International Pacific Salmon Fisheries Commission and with the provincial Ministry of Environment. Marvin worked extensively on lower Fraser River white sturgeon during the 1990s as a BC fisheries program biologist and as a Director and member of the Science Committee with the Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society. He has a BSc (Honours) and an MSc from the Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, and a DPhil from the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Waikato in Hamilton, New Zealand.

Learn more about the Heart of the Fraser: https://movingimages.ca/products/the-heart-of-the-fraser

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As part of our salmon connections and resilience series, we explore the potential impacts of mining on salmon watersheds. The episode features some of the authors who collaborated on a science and policy paper published in Science Advances in July 2022 that reviewed the ecological complexities of rivers and some of the risks mines can have on salmon watersheds. We also hear from those facing impacts from mining on the Fraser River.

Thanks for the interviews and insights from Chief Laceese, JP Lapointe, Jonathan Moore, Chris Sergeant, and Nuskmata.

Music thanks to the regionally talented Los Gringos Salvajes, and Facundo Gastiazoro for the art.

This episode was recorded on unceded Witsuwit’en territory in the summer months of 2022, along with clips from a 2021 webinar “Dilution is not the Solution to Pollution”. 54 Degrees North is produced by Nikki Skuce (@nikkiskuce) from the Northern Confluence Initiative (a project of MakeWay), and edited with the help of Namita Prakash.  Thanks to the Canada Summer Jobs program for helping make this podcast possible. Contact us at 54DegreesNorthPodcast@gmail.com or check us out on Instagram @northern_confluence. Take action to help reform BC’s mining laws at: https://reformbcmining.ca 

In this episode we hear from long time marine naturalist and author Barry Swanson. He wrote  The Lost Frequency. That interview dives into what happened to Tahlequah, also known as "J35". She is an orca who lives in the Salish Sea. As soon as I landed I discovered something shocking. At that same time I was headed to Salt Spring Island, BC in the traditional territory of the Saanich, Cowichan, and Chemainus First Nations., to meet with Rama DelaRosa who was doing a  Swim for the Salish Sea. Rachael Merrett from the Georgia Strait Alliance also makes an appearance in explaining what's going on with the orcas living in the Salish Sea.

https://www.salmonfolk.com/