Maybe BCs Hydro Dams aren't as green as you think.

[Keith Brown]

Just maybe if they removed a few strategic dams with help the salmon return. Seems to me the over abundance of marine mammals isn't at the route of the problem like many fisherman think. Funny thing when it comes to the state of salmon on the west coast I never here the impact the dams are having on the production cycle of the salmon mentioned. Not even considering the complete annellation of the inland Sturgeon population caused directly by dams.
https://lostcoastoutpost.com/2025/oct/9/one-year-after-klamath-dam-removal-theres-just-fis/

 

[sly_karma]

Which ones do you think should be removed? The Fraser drainage is the biggest fish producer, and is under a lot of stress from drought, wildfires, logging, and streamside development, yet it has no dams at all along the main stem. The handful of dams in the system are mostly sited on tributaries well upstream from the main river.

I know the Fraser isn't the only fish bearing river, of course, but it is of global importance to salmonid stocks.

 

[dmack]

UBC did a comprehensive study on the Fraser a couple of years back and determined that 85% of historical spawning grounds on the system no longer support life. How much of that was dams I do not know; I do know other factors were significant.

But yes, mammals, offshore fishing, warming, fishers of all sorts, and the laundry list of things that we often hear can only impact some of the remaining 15% of fish around the lower mainland.

So if people want to do something about salmon stocks, start by working with river systems. On the island here, the Cowichan went from less than 1000 returning Chinook to about 20,000 in just a few cycles after the spawning areas were tended to. Consider how many salmon would be out there if we could get 20 fold increases like this around the Georgia Basin.