Presentation Abstract
Many beaches in the Salish Sea are experiencing a "coastal squeeze", where climate change impacts combined with shoreline development are diminishing the quantity and quality of forage fish spawning habitat. In British Columbia, the jurisdictional landscape of the nearshore environment is complex and often fragmented. There is little coordination between the governing agencies, including municipalities, the province, First Nations, and the federal government. Voluntary action using softshore techniques as alternatives to hard armouring is gaining some momentum, but the regulatory backbone continues to be lacking. There is no specific language in policies, save for some municipal Official Community Plans, which makes the protection and/or restoration of beach spawning sites difficult. WWF-Canada is building on existing work directed towards filling the data and knowledge gaps regarding beach spawning forage fish in British Columbia. The approach is two-pronged, targeting research and management practices. WWF-Canada is supporting (i) the development of a ShoreZone predictive mapping model to identify suitable spawning habitat, and (ii) beach surveys and citizen science network development, conducted by the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region Research Institute (MABRRI). WWF-Canada is also engaging different levels of governing agencies to identify pilot sites, with the goal of working collaboratively to integrate forage fish spawning habitat conservation into policies and management plans. WWF-Canada will present with MABRRI on the work to-date, including beach survey methodology, predictive mapping model, and identification of pilot sites for improved spawning beach management.
Session Title
Forage Fish Status, Spawning Beach Restoration and Monitoring, and Community Engagement in the Salish Sea
Conference Track
SSE1: Habitat Restoration and Protection
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2018 : Seattle, Wash.)
Document Type
Event
SSEC Identifier
SSE1-104
Start Date
5-4-2018 2:30 PM
End Date
5-4-2018 2:45 PM
Type of Presentation
Oral
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Forage fishes--British Columbia; Fish habitat improvement--British Columbia; Fishes--Spawning--British Columbia; Beach erosion monitoring--British Columbia; Beach nourishment--British Columbia; Pacific sand lance
Geographic Coverage
British Columbia
Presentation manuscript
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Included in
Fresh Water Studies Commons, Marine Biology Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons
Conserving forage fish beach spawning habitat in British Columbia
Many beaches in the Salish Sea are experiencing a "coastal squeeze", where climate change impacts combined with shoreline development are diminishing the quantity and quality of forage fish spawning habitat. In British Columbia, the jurisdictional landscape of the nearshore environment is complex and often fragmented. There is little coordination between the governing agencies, including municipalities, the province, First Nations, and the federal government. Voluntary action using softshore techniques as alternatives to hard armouring is gaining some momentum, but the regulatory backbone continues to be lacking. There is no specific language in policies, save for some municipal Official Community Plans, which makes the protection and/or restoration of beach spawning sites difficult. WWF-Canada is building on existing work directed towards filling the data and knowledge gaps regarding beach spawning forage fish in British Columbia. The approach is two-pronged, targeting research and management practices. WWF-Canada is supporting (i) the development of a ShoreZone predictive mapping model to identify suitable spawning habitat, and (ii) beach surveys and citizen science network development, conducted by the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region Research Institute (MABRRI). WWF-Canada is also engaging different levels of governing agencies to identify pilot sites, with the goal of working collaboratively to integrate forage fish spawning habitat conservation into policies and management plans. WWF-Canada will present with MABRRI on the work to-date, including beach survey methodology, predictive mapping model, and identification of pilot sites for improved spawning beach management.
