WWW.BOWENISLANDUNDERCURRENT.COM
FRIDAY MAY 23 2014 • 7
Searching for answers to salmon collapse from PAGE 6
Housed at the UBC Fisheries Department, this Centre will bring together data which exists, often, in the minds of aging and retired researchers, or on obsolete media. Once it is all collected, anyone will be able to go online and look at it for no cost. Riddell says that gaps in knowledge about what has happened in the Strait of Georgia over the past two decades are hindering its recovery. “In 1994 Coho salmon production plummeted in the Strait, forcing an end to the harvesting of wild Coho. Also since the mid-1990s there has been a precipitous decline in the survival of both wild and hatchery-bred Coho at sea. We don’t know why this is, and without that information, we aren’t likely to find a solution.” The Marine Survival Project will also be looking for current data, and to collect that, the Pacific Salmon Foundation will be employing “citizen scientists.” “We will equip fishing vessels with the necessary equipment, and send them out to specific locations mapped out by GPS on specific days at specific intervals – either every week or every two weeks – to collect samples and data,” says Riddell. “We think that ten boats will be enough. It is fairly easy to collect data, but more challenging to analyze it.” The Canadian portion of the Marine Survival Project (the same work is being undertaken for an equal amount in the Southern portion of the Salish Sea by an organization called Long Live the Kings) is slated to take five years, and to cost $10 million. Rudy North’s donation brought the amount of funding acquired by the project up to $7.5 million. Despite the $3.5 million shortfall in required funds, the Pacific Salmon Foundation has already started its work, testing equipment in the waters of Cowichan Bay. “We are in spitting distance of getting the money we need for this,” says North. “And there are skeptics who say you will never find the answer to this problem but I think this is a good opportunity to do things right. You need a holistic approach, and this study is very collaborative and will be looking into all the factors affecting the lifecycle of salmon.”
The Salish Sea supports approximately 3,000 species of marine life, including all seven species of Pacific salmon. Pacific salmon are fundamental to this biodiversity. Chart from the Pacific Salmon Foundation
Book your eye exam today!
THE
LOVE SUN 20 SAVE TAX THE
on sunglasses
$
INSTANT
IRIS CARD
towards the purchase of sunglasses
Caulfeild Shopping Centre | 604.923.4747
Park Royal South | 604.925.3470
Dr. Jenna Fukushima & Dr. Pratil Lal, Optometrists
Dr. Judith Balberan & Dr. Peter Mulhall, Optometrists
Valid until June 15. Ask for details.
®™ Trademarks of AIR MILES International Trading B.V. Used under license by LoyaltyOne, Co. and IRIS The Visual Group.