About the project
Raincoast Conservation Foundation is organizing the construction of a second breach in the North Arm Jetty in the Fraser River estuary — the traditional and unceded territory of Musqueam Indian Band.
The goal of the breaches in the North Arm jetty is to restore natural migration routes for juvenile salmon and other fish. Opening the jetty will also restore the natural flow of freshwater, fine sediments and processes that create a link between the river and the estuary.
This project is part of long-term vision to support the recovery of the Fraser River, the estuary, and its salmon populations.
Musqueam Involvement
Raincoast has been discussing the idea of creating breaches (aka openings) in the Iona North Arm Jetty and its benefits to salmon with Musqueam Intergovernmental Affairs, Musqueam Environmental Stewardship and Musqueam Fisheries.
As with the construction of the first breach, which was completed in 2022, environmental monitors from Musqueam will periodically be onsite throughout construction of the second breach.
The problem created by jetties
Jetties in the Fraser River estuary, and the accompanying dredging of the river, began in the early 1900s to aid boats and ships into the arms of the Fraser River.
The North Arm jetty was constructed in 1916. It created a 6.8 km long barrier that has altered the connection between the North Arm of the Fraser River and the estuary since it was constructed.
Jetties interrupt the natural movement of juvenile salmon and other fish by forcing them from the freshwater river into the deeper waters of the Strait of Georgia before they are ready. Jetties block access to the brackish marsh and sandflat habitats young salmon want to reach while they feed, grow, and make the transition from freshwater to ocean water.
Plans for the North Arm Jetty
From November to December 2023, Raincoast aims to construct a second 30-meter-wide breach in the North Arm jetty.
Raincoast will continue to monitor the breaches to assess their effectiveness in creating access for salmon, and for their contribution to creating a more natural estuary that flows more like it did prior to European arrival and construction of jetties in Musqueam territory.
In 2022, the first 30-meter-wide breach in the North Arm jetty was constructed. In follow-up monitoring, all five species of juvenile salmon were found using the breaches. At high tides, over 700 juvenile chum salmon were moving through the breach every hour, and over 100 juvenile chinook salmon per hour.
Raincoast also conducted baseline fish surveys across the lower river and estuary between 2018 and 2023. During this time, high densities of juvenile salmon, particularly juvenile Chinook salmon, were found in the North Arm, demonstrating that the habitat in the North Arm is still important to salmon.
Raincoast believes this second breach in the North Arm jetty will not only improve passage for juvenile salmon, it will also help improve habitat in the estuary particularly for Chinook, chum and sockeye. It will also help to recover the estuary ecosystem by restoring ecological processes through the movement of freshwater, fine sediments, and nutrients that are currently stopped by the North Arm jetty.
Ongoing collaboration
Raincoast has committed to building a relationship with Musqueam to collaboratively develop future restoration projects in the Fraser River Estuary and work towards our shared goals of restoring Fraser River salmon populations and healthy ecosystems.
