Urban Salmon Project
Urban Salmon is the first documented photography project featuring salmonids in the urban environment. Documenting the fish and their natural habitat in various Metropolitan Vancouver watersheds over two years, the project published a coffee table book in March, 2019.
An image/video-bank is available to stream-keeper groups related to salmon conservation for their education program.
After almost 30 years, millions of dollars and many hours of volunteer work, British Columbians can now claim back such an important symbol to their waters. Coming from the Fraser River every October, the fish swim along the Brunette River, Burnaby Lake and spread through the many creeks, reaching Vancouver from Still Creek.
Although the restoration of the watersheds and Urban Salmon are not unknown to most people and many are aware of the importance of a peaceful existence with wildlife, many don’t realise how close that Urban wildlife is to them.
There are no more salmon runs like 100 years ago, where “one could walk over fish” in the Brunette River, but Vancouverites can definitely still enjoy a beautiful run, with hundreds - even thousands - of fish, just a few bus stops away from their homes.
The Nooksack dace (Rhinichthys cataractae) is one of the many endangered species found in our urban streams. They are part of the Chehalis fauna, a unique group of fish that got isolated in the Pleistocene glaciation. They are only found in four rivers in British Columbia and are protected under the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA).
Brunette River, Burnaby, BC