Open Collections

Afshar-Pour, Niki; Beierbach, Keelie; Hsieh, Peggy; Scarpetta-Lee, Aria

Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) is an ancient keystone species with ecological, cultural, and economic importance in the Salish Sea (Moss, 2016). This once-abundant forage fish has had its population greatly reduced and there are currently few viable spawning grounds in the Salish Sea where active spawning occurs. This makes the presence of an active spawning site in False Creek truly notable, and the possibility of spawning grounds growing in number within the Salish Sea is worth exploring. Our project played a vital role in supporting herring spawning to revive a fishery that has been greatly diminished and promote biodiversity in the Salish Sea. In partnership with CityStudio Vancouver, the UBC Environmental Sciences 400 (ENVR 400) team worked to support the ongoing efforts of the Squamish Streamkeepers to monitor Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) spawning during the 2024 spawning season in False Creek and Coal Harbour in Vancouver, British Columbia. Data and findings from previous iterations of the project were also taken into consideration. Historically, the project has examined Pacific herring spawning in False Creek. This year, the project scope included both False Creek and Coal Harbour. The study primarily followed the methods outlined by the 2022-2023 cohort for monitoring and analysis, however, nets were deployed in January rather than February due to an observed trend of earlier herring spawns. Further insights were gathered about herring spawning in False Creek and Coal Harbour by deploying nets earlier and considering two locations. The project monitored nets in False Creek and Coal Harbour from mid-January until mid-March. This has been the longest monitoring timeline across all iterations and provides further insight into spawning behaviour and potentially influencing factors.

Text

University of British Columbia. ENVR 400

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0442325

Science, Faculty of; Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Department of

Undergraduate

DSpace