Watershed Watch Salmon Society

Mowi Loses and Wild Salmon Win – Federal Court of Appeal | Watershed Watch Salmon Society A win for wild salmon. The Federal Court of Appeal has dismissed Mowi’s appeal, keeping fish farms out of the Discovery Islands to protect wild salmon.

A huge win for wild salmon.

Canada’s Federal Court of Appeal has dismissed Mowi’s appeal, confirming that salmon farms will remain out of the Discovery Islands.

This case was about whether conservation can come first. The courts said it can.

Learn more: watershedwatch.ca/stories/mowi...

BREAKING: The Federal Court of Appeal has DISMISSED Norwegian fish farming giant MOWI’s case to reverse the removal of fish farms from the Discovery Islands. This is a massive win for wild salmon.

Huge thanks to @ecojusticecanada.bsky.social for representing us & allies in this case. More to come.

Climate Change is Increasing Flood Risk in B.C. Are You Ready? Climate change is increasing flood risk across B.C. Learn how flood hazards, flood-prone areas, and watershed health affect people, property, and salmon.

Do you know your flood risk?

Climate change is increasing flooding across B.C. The choices we make next will shape the safety of our communities and the future of wild salmon.

Learn more: watershedwatch.ca/stories/clim... #bcfloods

Opinion: Do we need another billion-dollar flood before B.C. acts? Flood strategy to help communities prepare for climate disasters has no funding and municipalities don't have tax base to pay for upgrades.

Our colleague Lina Azeez's op-ed in the Vancouver Sun, published just days before recent flood events in the Fraser Valley, was more timely than we could have predicted. Will recent events be enough for federal & provincial governments to act?

vancouversun.com/opinion/op-e...

Freshwater Shouldn’t Be a Casualty of B.C.’s Development Boom Industrial development in B.C. is accelerating while industrial water rates have remained unchanged for over a decade. Industry still pays as little as $2.25 for a million litres of freshwater. Modern...

Did you know industries in B.C. pay a maximum of $2.25 for a million litres of freshwater?

As industrial development accelerates, watershed funding in B.C. has dropped significantly.

It's time to raise industrial water rates and reinvest in our watersheds.

🔗 watershedwatch.ca/stories/fres...

Reverse cuts to wild salmon monitoring programs, says alliance in open letter to fisheries minister DFO can’t manage what it doesn’t measure. Cuts to salmon monitoring put entire runs at risk. 26 groups have joined forces to defend these essential programs. Read the open letter + take action.

If we don’t count salmon, we can’t manage them.

DFO budget cuts could undermine monitoring across BC. We stand alongside fishers, scientists, businesses and other conservation organizations to demand these essential programs remain intact.

watershedwatch.ca/stories/reve...

Fish farm appears to be abandoned on Sunshine Coast | Watch News Videos Online Watch Fish farm appears to be abandoned on Sunshine Coast Video Online, on GlobalNews.ca

They were fined. They were ordered to leave. So why is their equipment still in Lois Lake? 😡

After a $350k fine for illegal fish farming, the company was supposed to remove all equipment by Aug 31 — but we found the farm still in the lake during a recent visit.

globalnews.ca/video/114941...

Who is Afraid of The Blob? | Watershed Watch Salmon Society Another massive marine heatwave may be forming in the Pacific. “The Blob” could return, threatening salmon as warm waters endanger their survival at sea.

Back in the ‘50s, “The Blob” was just a cheesy monster movie. Today, its real-world counterpart is no joke.

A growing marine heatwave is spreading in the Pacific, suggesting we could see a return of “The Blob”, which could have a devastating impact on wild salmon.
watershedwatch.ca/stories/who-...

Watershed Watch Salmon Society’s 2025 Wild Salmon Run 50/50 Your support will help us defend wild Pacific salmon and the waters they swim in.

The 2025 Wild Salmon Run 50/50 Jackpot is growing!
The pot is over $5,400 - & half could be yours!

💰 One lucky winner gets 50% of the jackpot.
🌊 The other 50% supports our work to defend wild salmon.
Tickets: watershedwatch.rafflenexus.com/a/bsky
Sales close Oct 23!
BC Gaming Event Licence #165150

Watershed Watch is looking for a dynamic Operations Manager to help power our work defending wild salmon and the rivers they depend on!⁠

📍 Lower Mainland (remote with local travel)⁠
💰 $67,000–$75,000 + benefits⁠
⏰ Full-time | Apply by October 6, 2025⁠
⁠
watershedwatch.ca/careers

At 12 PM, community leaders will present on the awesome work being done to take care of salmon.

Thank you to our sponsors: The Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program, MetroVancouver Regional Parks Foundation, Coquitlam Foundation &the BC Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund.

Salmon Forest, Pacific Streamkeepers Federation, The Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program, Watershed Watch Salmon Society, & UBC's Pacific Salmon Ecology & Conservation Laboratory.

How to get there:
We will be hosting this event next to the Community Gardens at ƛ̓éxətəm Regional Park in Coquitlam.

Take part in some hands-on salmon fun: a fish ID table, salmon detector station, exhibitor booths, & more.

Exhibitors include Kwikwetlem First Nation, Coquitlam River Watershed Society, Rivershed Society of BC, Lower Coquitlam River Nation Association, Vancouver Avian Research Centre...

Join Watershed Watch, Kwikwetlem First Nation, Resilient Waters & UBC's Salmon Lab on Saturday, Oct 4 at ƛ̓éxətəm (Tla-hut-um; formerly Colony Farm) Regional Park for Salmon Day!

Free + family-friendly!
📍 ƛ̓éxətəm Regional Park, Coquitlam | 🎉 11am–3pm

RSVP at: www.facebook.com/events/19319...

Communications and Engagement Coordinator - Abbotsford, BC V3G 2G5 - Indeed.com Emergency Planning Secretariat

Job Alert! Our partners at the Lower Fraser Floodplains Coalition are seeking a Communications & Engagement Coordinator to join our awesome coalition working to action floodplain resilience in the Lower Mainland.

💰$64–70K | ⌛ 1-yr contract | 📅 Apply by Sept 21

ca.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=8...

Is B.C.’s Polluter-Pay System Rigged in Favour of Salmon Farming Companies? | Watershed Watch Salmon Society FOI records uncovered by Watershed Watch show troubling delays in the response to a Zeballos diesel spill at a factory fish farm. Is B.C.’s polluter-pay system benefiting salmon farms?

Docs obtained by Watershed Watch show Grieg Seafood & its consultants were linked to delays after a fish farm diesel spill near Zeballos. Such delays can mask damage—leaving salmon & communities at risk.

Read the full story: watershedwatch.ca/stories/is-b...

📷 Nuchatlaht First Nation
#fishfarmsout

These juvenile salmon have narrow, oval-shaped parr marks that are centred on the side of the fish. They often have white & black leading edges on their dorsal & anal fins. Fins can have an orange tint, & anal fins have a sickle shape.
#fieldworkfinds #freshwaterfish #wildsalmon #fieldwork

Stunning footage of salmon schooling below Witset Canyon on the mighty Bulkley River.
#salmonreturns #salmonspawnwatch2025 #wildsalmon

🍩 Big thanks to Coquitlam's Doughnut Love! 🍩

Watershed Watch was selected to be their Community Love Partner for the month of August! ♥

Check out their location on Como Lake Avenue in Coquitlam and get yourself a cookie dough doughnut to support our work to defend wild salmon. #DoughnutLove

This Week in Salmon Fisheries: Balancing the Scales: Harvest and Conservation – Aug15 B.C.’s salmon season is heating up. This week, Greg Taylor breaks down the latest on steelhead, sockeye, and pink salmon returns — and the management challenges they face.

ICYMI: Alaska keeps looting our salmon runs 🤬; tough decisions on the Fraser 🧐; and stay away from those black market fish! 🚫 -- Here's our latest in-season fisheries update from the incomparable Greg Taylor. watershedwatch.ca/stories/this...

This Week in Salmon Fisheries: DFO’s Number Blunder and the Fraser Heats Up – Aug 1 Early Stuart sockeye surge, DFO miscount, pink returns, and rising Fraser River temperatures.

Salmon Fisheries Update for August 1, 2025: DFO’s Number Blunder and the Fraser Heats Up

Read more: watershedwatch.ca/stories/this...

Retraction of 2023 DFO CSAS report — July 30, 2025 | Watershed Watch Salmon Society

The credibility of DFO science—and the future of wild salmon—are on the line. The groups continue to wait for details from the federal government on how it will fulfill its promise to remove all remaining marine salmon farms from B.C. waters.

Read the letter: watershedwatch.ca/resource/ret...

11 orgs have sent a letter to Fisheries Minister Thompson, calling for a retraction of DFO’s flawed parasitic lice report. A new peer-reviewed study, co-authored by the same scientists, confirms what independent researchers have long said: parasitic lice from salmon farms infect BC wild salmon.

Overuse of riprap to prevent riverbank erosion is harming B.C. rivers Riprap can bury the spawning habitats of fish, increase river temperatures and exacerbate erosion elsewhere. There are alternative ways to stabilize riverbanks.

You’ve probably seen it along your local river—big rocks piled on the banks to stop erosion. It’s called riprap, and while common, it can harm fish and their habitats.

There’s a better way.

PhD candidate Charlotte Milne breaks it down in this great read. theconversation.com/overuse-of-r...

This is what factory fish farms don’t want you to see. 🎥

Federal underwater inspection footage from an experimental fish farm near Tofino shows the sea floor under the farm covered in fish feces & feed.

Watch the videos and take action at: www.safesalmon.ca/sh_t_tapes

Careers Put your knowledge and passion to work for B.C.’s wild salmon and the people and wildlife that depend on them. Check out our Career page for opportunities.

We’re hiring a Campaign & Communications Coordinator to help defend B.C.’s wild salmon and watersheds.

💼 $58K–$65K/year + benefits
📍 Work from anywhere in B.C.
🎯 Start ASAP | Open until filled

👉 Check the full posting at watershedwatch.ca/careers/

#EnvironmentalJobs #NonprofitJobs

2025 Salmon Outlook: Part 2 — Predicted Salmon Returns | Watershed Watch Salmon Society Watershed Watch unpacks the numbers from DFO’s 2025 Salmon Outlook and shares insights and predictions for this year’s returns from fisheries advisor Greg Taylor.

What can we expect for B.C.’s salmon returns this year?
In Part 2 of our recap of DFO’s 2025 Salmon Outlook, we cover the forecasts for wild salmon species and share expert insights from Greg Taylor.
👉 Read the blog: watershedwatch.ca/stories/2025...
#wildsalmon #salmonreturns #britishcolumbia

Huge gratitude to Robinson's Outdoor Store & Robinson's Fly Fishing for their generous $5000 donation to Watershed Watch in support of our work to defend BC’s wild salmon. These heroes have raised over $100,000 for charity through their Thrifting for Charity initiative, sponsored by @patagonia.com

especially as climate extremes like the 2021 atmospheric river & floods become more frequent.

When he’s not solving big water problems, you’ll find Suman walking Vancouver’s forests, hanging out by the beach, or playing cricket with friends.☀️

We’re thrilled to have Suman on our team this summer!

2. And if it’s not the only tool for flood management in glaciated river basins, what alternative strategies exist?

Now, he's using hydrological models to simulate flood scenarios & explore nature-based solutions to protect communities & rivers...