Last_Call
Well-Known Member
Log Booms, Seals, and Adult Chinook in Cowichan Bay
The coastline of the Salish Sea has an extensive history of log storage, which, unfortunately, is not without consequence to the environment. Log storage activities, such as the presence of log booms in our BC waters, cause cumulative effects which can alter ecosystem dynamics. Log storage has left a legacy of habitat degradation, which lasts long after sites are decommissioned. Protected bays and estuaries are ideal for log booms but are also critical migratory corridors for juvenile salmon during their spring outmigration and as adults returning to spawn; thus we must understand the impacts of log booms and manage these areas in a way that supports Pacific salmon and other species which utilize estuaries and bay ecosystems. This newsletter highlights a project that has received support from the Pacific Salmon Foundation, and is being carried out to assess whether the presence of log booms increases predation on adult salmon that are returning to spawn. A subsequent newsletter will detail results of a second project that investigated how the legacy of log boom activities affects eelgrass restoration potential in estuaries
The coastline of the Salish Sea has an extensive history of log storage, which, unfortunately, is not without consequence to the environment. Log storage activities, such as the presence of log booms in our BC waters, cause cumulative effects which can alter ecosystem dynamics. Log storage has left a legacy of habitat degradation, which lasts long after sites are decommissioned. Protected bays and estuaries are ideal for log booms but are also critical migratory corridors for juvenile salmon during their spring outmigration and as adults returning to spawn; thus we must understand the impacts of log booms and manage these areas in a way that supports Pacific salmon and other species which utilize estuaries and bay ecosystems. This newsletter highlights a project that has received support from the Pacific Salmon Foundation, and is being carried out to assess whether the presence of log booms increases predation on adult salmon that are returning to spawn. A subsequent newsletter will detail results of a second project that investigated how the legacy of log boom activities affects eelgrass restoration potential in estuaries
