Pacific Salmon Foundation

06/12/2026

A great event focused on community-led watershed monitoring for our partners and supporters in Nanaimo, Parksville, Qualicum Beach or Lantzville.

Join us for a day of learning, discussion and community connections at the annual Community Watershed Monitoring Network Results Session.

This free, in-person event will explore what our 2025 stream monitoring data is telling us about our local waterways. Hear from guest speakers from the BC Conservation Foundation, the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, and Origin Environmental.

Event highlights:
💠Updates on community flow monitoring and drought monitoring
➡️ Presentations on:
Rain gardens, Mapping, Community monitoring, Stream restoration
💠An interactive afternoon discussion where you can share your ideas on:
How freshwater data is visualized and the future of stewardship support in our region

👉 Register by June 14 here: https://bit.ly/DWWPwaterdata

06/11/2026

🔬New published salmon research!

Are juvenile Chinook salmon starving during their first winter in the ocean? That was the question Pacific Salmon Foundation scientists set out to answer when they began investigating what salmon are eating during the winter six years ago.

By non-lethally sampling more than 1,000 Chinook over 126 winter field days, researchers found that while juvenile Chinook showed signs of food limitation, they were likely not experiencing severe nutritional stress, contrary to expectations.

In a nutshell, this research suggests that widespread winter starvation is not a fact of life for juvenile salmon, but under different ocean conditions, winter may still play a key role in controlling salmon abundance.

Read the peer-reviewed study: https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/cjfas-2025-0226

Thanks to our projects partners at University of Victoria and BC Conservation Foundation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_kLZiH5HkU

Pacific Salmon Foundation’s Winter Ecology study is testing the leading hypothesis that juvenile Chinook salmon’s first winter at sea is a period of increase...

06/09/2026

Yellow fish gifts for the outdoor dad 🐟🎁

Visit PSF’s shop to browse salmon gifts he might actually use: t-shirts, socks, and a baseball cap, visor, or beanie perfect for a day on the water. Add a donation to help your gift go further for salmon.

For the next couple of weeks, we are also throwing in a fun Mr. Brown “I caught you a present” card.

Find your Father’s Day gift now: https://vist.ly/575w6

06/08/2026

Wild Salmon Day reached 7.1 million people, and it’s all thanks to YOU 🐟

This global moment for salmon brought together First Nations groups, community hubs, streamkeepers, business leaders, elected officials, and thousands of concerned People for Salmon worldwide. Plus, Leonardo DiCaprio.

From the whole team here at PSF, we are thankful to everyone who raised the flag for salmon across B.C. and the Yukon, and around the world.

Together, we sent a clear message: wild salmon need healthy rivers. Now is the time to scale up investments, mobilize communities, and get to work.

Thank you for helping us write a brighter story for salmon, and to our partners BC First Nations Fisheries Council, Atlantic Salmon Trust, and Atlantic Salmon Federation.

📸: We ran out of space! These represent only a few of the flags raised on Wild Salmon Day and capture a glimpse of this global moment. Search for more.

06/08/2026

Happy World Oceans Day from the Pacific Salmon Foundation 🐟🌎

Each spring, young Pacific salmon enter the ocean and face one of the most critical phases of their lives. There, they must evade predators, hunt, and accumulate over 99% of their adult body weight.

Many do not survive this transition, and we don't fully understand why.

That's why PSF scientists are using innovative tagging and sampling techniques to pull back the curtain on salmon health, diet, and environmental stressors in real time.

Together, we can identify where and how to act to help salmon survive at sea.

📸: Tavish Campbell

06/04/2026

PSF is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Thomas Alexis.

"We at PSF were honoured and grateful to know Thomas and to witness his many years of dedicated service. Our thoughts are with the Upper Fraser Fisheries Conservation Alliance, BC First Nations Fisheries Council, and all who knew and loved him," says Michael Meneer, CEO and President of PSF.

06/03/2026

Early warning signs indicate that drought in 2026 could be worse than in previous years, particularly on B.C.’s south coast. This could pose significant and life-threatening challenges for salmon.

As of May 15, snowpack levels on Vancouver Island sat at just 11 per cent of normal amounts and 33 per cent of normal for the South Coast region. Both are significantly less than the levels seen in the spring of all previous drought years.

The province has faced persistent, multi-year drought conditions because of warm weather, low precipitation and snowpack, and early snowmelt since 2022.

In places like the Cowichan River and the Okanagan, local salmon stewards are already raising the alarm for drought this year.

PSF and partners are ready to take action this summer. Read more here: https://psf.ca/blog/warm-winter-low-snowpack-put-salmon-at-risk-this-summer/

06/02/2026

You asked, we answered.

We’re tackling more of the top questions about open-net pen salmon farms in British Columbia.

🐟 Why are Atlantic salmon farmed in the Pacific Ocean?

🐟 What are the environmental upsides of switching to land-based farming?

🐟 How is science guiding policy?

Learn more: https://psf.ca/blog/the-latest-on-open-net-pens-in-bc/

06/01/2026

Happy Wild Salmon Day! 🐟🎉

With our partners BC First Nations Fisheries Council, Atlantic Salmon Federation, and Atlantic Salmon Trust, we are sending a clear message: restoring salmon rivers can’t wait.

Around the world, local partners are restoring critical salmon habitats. Restoration success stories show us what’s possible. But we need more of them, and fast.

Join us today to celebrate salmon and raise awareness of the threats they face! It will take all of us to ensure healthy salmon for future generations.

Share the flag and use the hashtag .

05/28/2026

Raise your voice for salmon 🐟

Join hundreds of people taking our 1-minute poll ahead of International Wild Salmon Day next Monday, June 1.

Tell us what salmon mean to you and help us show the world why restoring salmon rivers can't wait.

Take the poll and share it with other People for Salmon: https://form.typeform.com/to/ygAp9ahO?typeform-source=wildsalmonday.com



In partnership with Pacific Salmon Foundation, BC First Nations Fisheries Council, Atlantic Salmon Trust, Atlantic Salmon Federation