Skeena Wild Conservation Trust to benefit from $50,000 investment from Prince Rupert Port Authority

Research towards the recovery of wild salmon stocks in British Columbia is the focus for a partnership between SkeenaWild Conservation Trust and the Prince Rupert Port Authority, with the Port investing 50,000 dollars into efforts that are part of the Skeena Sockeye Century Project.

In the funding announcement of today the PRPA outlined some of the work ahead for the initiative.

The Skeena Sockeye Century Project will examine data going back as far as 1913, to establish a baseline for sockeye populations in the region. Using DNA testing, researchers are reconstructing historical abundances and diversity of individual populations by analyzing thousands of scale samples collected from commercial fisheries at the mouth of the Skeena in the 1930s and 1940s, when official counts of spawning salmon first began. 

They will then examine whether climate change over the last century has differentially impacted freshwater nursery lakes for sockeye in the Skeena Watershed. 

Beyond creating historic baselines for sockeye populations, findings from this project will give researchers the ability to more accurately determine lake productivity, data that can be used for future assessment of various changes to fish population and health. 

The information gathered will also help identify which lakes are most vulnerable to climate change and should take priority in sockeye conservation planning.

PRPA President and CEO Shaun Stevenson noted the importance of the fishery resource to the region .

“The Prince Rupert Port Authority recognizes that a healthy salmon population is vital to the entire Northwest region. We take our commitment to our communities and the environment seriously, and we are pleased to partner with organizations like SkeenaWild and the Pacific Salmon Foundation who share our sustainability values, and will pursue informed approaches and innovative solutions related to the health of Skeena River salmon”.

The Port's 50K portion which comes from their Skeena River Salmon Enhancement Program  will go towards the total project cost of $160,000 with a range of partners set to provide for the remaining funding for the work. 

Among those assisting are: Skeena upriver nations and organizations, the Government of Canada’s Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, W. Garfield Weston Foundation, MakeWay, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and Simon Fraser University. 

As Greg Knox the Executive Director for SkeenaWild Conservation Trust Executive Trust notes, the work ahead will be a key element towards common goals and upcoming management decisions.

“The Skeena Sockeye Century Project will provide the type of scientific insight we need to better protect and enhance wild salmon ecosystems in our region. Collaborating with the Prince Rupert Port Authority to enable this research aids our common goals of informing management decisions for the Skeena River estuary and rebuilding wild salmon populations,” 

More on today's announcement can be reviewed here

You can learn more about the work of SkeenaWild here.