The Chilliwack Progress, Paul J. Henderson - December 19, 2017
Folks from sports angling and water protection groups get together for “hot spot” cleanup
Volunteers clean up garbage at a site on Sweltzer Creek just upriver from the Vedder Bridge in the Chilliwack River Vallley on Dec. 18. (Alyssa Cowles photo)
Led by our Swimmable Water Specialist, Julie Porter, Fraser Riverkeeper’s Citizen Science Team has been conducting water sampling at several points within False Creek to establish baseline data on recreational water quality and identify pollution hot-spots in downtown Vancouver’s most centralized water body. A report of our findings from this summer is coming out this Fall.
By FRK Staff
Vancouver is buzzing with excitement at the prospect of making False Creek, the heart of downtown, swimmable. This possibility is not only desirable, it’s doable. We can build on the momentum of other major cities that have successfully made once-polluted urban waterways swimmable. Most notably, and remarkably, Paris has opened its once-polluted Canal to swimmers this summer. Chicago, Washington and Boston are all actively working to make formerly garbage-laden and polluted urban waterways safe and clean for public swimming. While the Clean Water Act in the US has been the catalyst for clean-ups in most American cities, we all share this truth: our cities and citizens are passionate about having clean, living rivers flowing through their downtowns.
Richmond News, Paula Carlson - July 20, 2017
Newest exhibit at Britannia Shipyards showcases city’s fishing heritage and ocean sustainability
Brooke Lees, curator of Our Coastal Connections, a new exhibit at Britannia Shipyards, emphasizes the educational aspect of the maritime display. Photo by Joel Baziuk.
School’s out and the summer is just beginning for many, but the sockeye salmon migration season has ended for the Salmon Early Marine Survival Program (SEMSP).
“Without good water we don’t have a good quality of life”
BC's rivers, lakes and coastline are an integral part of our lives on the west coast. Watching people paddling under the setting sun at MEC Big Chop; hearing people's powerful memories on the water at beach-clean ups; and being involved in Our Water BC during the provincial election has made us realize how deeply passionate people are about water--our life source. At Fraser Riverkeeper, we believe that a swimmable, drinkable, and fishable future begins with community. When citizens are engaged on local water issues and have the resources and tools in order to take action, boil water, swimming and fishing advisories will be things of the past.
Free range grass fed beef burgers, cold craft beer, Jack Johnson and an amazing cause -- what’s not to love? FarmFolk CityFolk and Fraser Riverkeeper, two Vancouver-based non-profits hand-picked by Jack Johnson’s All At Once Social Action Network, recently teamed up for a public screening of The Smog of the Sea. The documentary is directed by Peabody Award-winning and Emmy-nominated filmmaker Ian Cheney (King Corn, The City Dark, The Search for General Tso)
June 27, 2017
VANCOUVER – Fraser Riverkeeper has launched a campaign demanding for real-time reporting and public transparency on raw sewage discharges into Vancouver’s waterways. The launch of the Swimmable Vancouver campaign coincides with the release of Swim Drink Fish Canada’s Canada Beach Report, the first-ever comparative study of Canadian recreational water quality.
Fraser Riverkeeper is seeking a Watermark Outreach Coordinator for a full-time, 9-week contract. This position is a perfect opportunity for someone passionate about protecting Canadian waters and eager to engage with the community.
Guest blogger Griffin Kelly shares her research and stories from the rugged west coast. She's currently exploring the impact of aquaculture on community in the Broughton Archipelago.
Salmon Coast was founded by biologist Alexandra Morton, who first noticed the influx of sea lice into the environment. Wild salmon pick up lice during their time in the open ocean. Farms are infected by wild salmon during the in-migration to rivers. Adult salmon return to the rivers to spawn, and then die off. The lice die off with them. However, fish farms act as incubators for sea lice over the winter; the lice remain in the system because they have constant, static hosts. When juvenile salmon emerge from rivers in the spring into the ocean, they are exposed to sea lice at an unnaturally early stage (Marty 2010). This can result in harmful effects on juvenile wild salmon populations (Krkošek 2017.)
