Fraser Estuary North Arm Jetty Breaches Project

Juvenile salmon in the Fraser River Estuary

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Fraser Estuary North Arm Jetty Breaches Project

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+1 778 907 2071

Meeting ID: 623 9517 1219

Email:

[email protected]

Agenda

1. Opening and introductions

2. Purpose

3. Iona Island WWTP Ecological Projects

4. Questions

5. North Arm Jetty Breaches Project

6. Questions & Discussion

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Fraser Estuary North Arm Jetty Breaches ProjectRAINCOAST CONSERVATION FOUNDATION

Dave Scott, Raincoast Conservation FoundationLower Fraser Salmon Program Research and Restoration Coordinator

Lea Elliott, Metro VancouverSenior Policy Analyst, Iona Island Program, Project Delivery

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Construction of a breach in the Steveston Jetty, 2019

Purpose

To learn about the

upcoming Fraser River

Estuary North Arm Jetty

Breaches Project and

provide input to Raincoast

Conservation Foundation

about the project.

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IIWWTP Ecological Projects

Iona Island WWTP and the North Arm Jetty

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Iona Island WWTP Project Definition Goals

Wastewater Treatment

Resource Recovery

Community and Park Integration

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xwəyeyət (Iona Island)

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Disconnected Salmon Migration

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Ecological Priorities

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IIWWTP

Ecological

Project

Areas

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Questions

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North Arm Jetty Breaches Project

Construction of a breach in the Steveston Jetty, 2019

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Restoring connectivity for juvenile salmon and ecosystem health in the Fraser River estuary

David ScottLower Fraser Research and Restoration Coordinator

Raincoast Conservation Foundation

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Salmon and the Fraser River

• Greatest salmon producing river worldwide

• Diversity of populations including ocean type Chinook, sockeye, chum and pink

• Currently significant conservation concerns for Chinook and sockeye

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• Must pass through as migratory corridors

• Are thought to rely on brackish water to acclimate to saline ocean conditions

• Often referred to as nursery habitat for juvenile salmon

• Estuaries highly impacted by human activities coast wide

Juvenile salmon use of estuary habitats

Photo: Tavish Campbell 17

Connectivity and Salmon

• Salmon travel long distances from rearing to spawning grounds

• Salmon extirpated from rivers across Pacific Northwest due to the presence of dams

• Connectivity highly altered by structures such as culverts, tide gates and, jetties and other structures

Estuary

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Barriers to fish movements in the Fraser estuary

• >70% of Lower Fraser and estuary habitats lost or disconnected

• Estuary connectivity highly altered by jetties and causeways

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The Fraser River estuary

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Fraser estuary juvenile salmon research

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Field research in the Fraser estuary

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Juvenile salmon mostly captured in marsh habitats

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Eelgrass Marsh Sandflat

Habitat

Year

2016

2017

2018

2019

Chinook

Eelgrass Marsh Sandflat

Habitat

Chum

Chalifour, L., Scott, D. C., MacDuffee, M., Iacarella, J. C., Martin, T. G., & Baum, J. K. 2019. Habitat use by

juvenile salmon, other migratory fish, and resident fish species underscores the importance of estuarine

habitat mosaics. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 625, 145-162.

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Harrison, Chilliwack and South Thompson Chinook utilize marsh habitats March to August

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Otoliths demonstrate early entry and long estuary residence times for Harrison Chinook

Chalifour, L., Scott, D. C., MacDuffee, M., Stark, S., Dower, J. F., Beacham, T. D., ... and Baum, J. K. 2020. Chinook

salmon exhibit long-term rearing and early marine growth in the Fraser River, BC, a large urban estuary. Canadian

Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2020-0247

Fraser Estuary Connectivity Project

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Barriers to fish movements in the Fraser estuary

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Steveston North Jetty

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Fraser Estuary Connectivity Project

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Steveston Jetty Breaches After Construction

West

Breach

Middle Breach

East Breach2019

202030

Effectiveness Monitoring Summary Results

• 2019 – Total salmon 554 including 152 Chinook, 2 sockeye, 0 pink, 0 coho, 300 chum

• 2020 – Total salmon 1,480 including 297 Chinook, 174 sockeye, 420 pink, 20 coho, 569 chum

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Summary of Juvenile Salmon Passage

• 2019 – Low numbers of small chum and ocean type Chinook captured from March to May

• 2020 – All five species of salmon, both ocean-type and stream-type Chinook, large bursts of pink and sockeye related to brood year abundance

• 2020 –Ocean type Chinook captured at breach locations March through August

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Proposed North Arm Jetty Breaches

2022

?

2021

?

2023

?

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Proposed North Arm Jetty Breaches

2022

?

2021

?

2023

?

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Iona Beach & McDonald Slough Causeway Sampling Locations 2018 - 2020

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Proposed breach locations

Data loggers

Previous fish sampling sites

New fish sampling sites

Iona Beach & McDonald Slough Causeway Sampling Locations 2021 - 2023

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Hydraulic Modelling Study

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North Arm Jetty Breach Potential Salinity Impacts

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North Arm Jetty Breach Current Velocity Impacts

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Flow velocity on outgoing tide

North Arm Jetty Breach Current Velocity Impacts

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North Arm Jetty Breach Current Velocity Impacts

Flow velocity on incoming tide

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North Arm Jetty Breach Hydraulic Modeling

Connectivity depends on breach invert elevation

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North Arm Jetty Breaches Timeline

• Baseline monitoring – spring - summer 2021

• Detailed hydraulic modelling and engineering design - spring 2021

• Finalize lease agreement with VFPA and apply for Transport Canada Authorization – summer 2021

• Phase 1 breach construction - fall - 2021 – winter 2022

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Break & Fraser River Connectivity Project Video

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Thanks for listening!

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Questions & Discussion

Email inquires:

[email protected]

@raincoastconservation.org

[email protected]

Email inquires:

[email protected]