Supporting Climate-Resilient Salmon Ecosystems: from Modelling to Monitoring

BCSRIF Project Summary

Species Group: Pacific Salmon
Location: Spans across BC
Partners: Taku River Tlingit Haida Fishery Program Gitanyow Fisheries Gitga’at Fisheries Kitasoo Xai’xais Stewardship Authority Heiltsuk Integrated Resource Management Department Nuxalk Stewardship Wuikinuxv Fishery Program Secwepmec Fisheries Commission Skeena Fisheries Commission Central Coast Indigenous Resource Alliance North Coast Skeena First Nations Stewardship Society Nanwakolas Council (Jordan Benner) Broughton Area Wild Salmon Initiative Fisheries and Oceans Canada British Columbia Institute of Technology University of Toronto Simon Fraser University Pacific Data Stream Living Lakes/Columbia Basin Hub Hakai institute Morice Watershed Monitoring Trust Skeena Knowledge Trust
Wild Salmon Centre Ecofish Research Ltd. 

Organization: Salmon Watersheds Program, Pacific Salmon Foundation
Session(s): Salmon In A Changing Climate
Presentation Date(s): December 02, 2025
Speakers: Marc Porter, Kathleen Belton, Stephanie Peacock
Abstract:
For over 15 years, the Pacific Salmon Foundation’s Salmon Watersheds Program (SWP) has worked to democratize salmon-related data and support community-led efforts in salmon recovery. Through two BC SRIF projects, the SWP has expanded their work to focus on the impacts of climate change on salmon and their freshwater habitats. The first project included modelling the climate change exposure of Pacific salmon Conservation Units in the Fraser River basin to understand their relative exposure to projected climate changes throughout their lifecycles. The results can be used alongside assessments of biological status and habitat degradation to strategically prioritize actions for salmon resilience. The second project was more tactical, working with numerous First Nations and other partners to implement community-led monitoring of stream temperature and flow and support the harmonization of approaches and datasets across organizations. Together, these projects shed light on how climate change impacts salmon watersheds today and into the future and provided opportunities for integration and collaboration across groups.