Threats to the Fraser River hit a new all-time high in 2019.

The impact of slides, habitat damage, and plummeting fish stocks will require political will and decisive action, according to Mark Angelo, chair of the (ORC) of B.C.

B次元官网网址淭he Fraser River remains the heart and soul of our province but itB次元官网网址檚 also critically endangered,B次元官网网址� Angelo said in ORCB次元官网网址檚 annual year-end statement, putting the Fraser at the top of the provinceB次元官网网址檚 list of most endangered rivers, if not the countryB次元官网网址檚.

READ MORE:

The impact of the Big Bar slide on fish passage, land-clearing, the potential extinction of Thompson-Chilcotin steelhead, non-selective gillnet fisheries, dismal salmon returns, climate change, and the need to restore damaged habitats, all play into it.

The impact of these issues on the riverB次元官网网址檚 health exceed those in any year since the ORC began compiling data on the Fraser almost 40 years ago.

B次元官网网址淭he threats and pressures confronting the river can be addressed if thereB次元官网网址檚 a will, but we must act quickly and decisively,B次元官网网址� Angelo warned.

Big Bar slide blocked fish passage for salmon returning to key Fraser River tributaries such as the Stuart, Quesnel and Chilco River systems. Many of the FraserB次元官网网址檚 sockeye stocks are dependent on tributaries in the northern part of the riverB次元官网网址檚 drainage as are many chinook populations.

Extensive land clearing in B次元官网网址楬eart of the FraserB次元官网网址� between Hope and Mission have taken out huge swaths of habitat essential to both sturgeon and salmon around key islands such as Herrling, Carey and Strawberry.

While efforts are underway to restore some of these key private lands by acquiring them, one of the most important things governments can do now is to designate the islands within the Heart of the Fraser as an B次元官网网址渆cologically significant area,B次元官网网址� a new designation created under the Fisheries Act, Angelo stressed.

The Heart of the Fraser sustains almost 30 species of fish as well as B.C.B次元官网网址檚 largest single spawning run of salmon along with its finest sturgeon spawning habitat. ItB次元官网网址檚 key rearing habitat for millions of young salmon, especially chinook which provide the primary food source for southern resident killer whales.

B次元官网网址淭he threats facing the Fraser River reached a new zenith this past year and yet, there is the potential to rectify many of these if the desire exists,B次元官网网址滱ngelo warned, as someone who first paddled the full length of the Fraser in 1975 and is both an Order of BC and Order of Canada recipient for his river conservation efforts.

B次元官网网址淭he events that have unfolded along the Heart of the Fraser have been disheartening,B次元官网网址� Angelo, internationally renowned river advocate and ORC Rivers Chair. B次元官网网址淲e have to do more to protect what is CanadaB次元官网网址檚 most important fish habitat.B次元官网网址�

READ MORE:

jfeinberg@theprogress.com
Like us on and follow us on .