Pacific Herring, Clupea pallasii, is a keystone species in BC, valued for its ecological role as well as its cultural and economic importance. Since 2019, students from the University of British Columbia (UBC) Environmental Science program have partnered with the City of Vancouver (COV) to monitor herring spawning in False Creek and support remediation due to an observed decrease in herring spawning. This project - a continuation of past student projects - investigated the feasibility of continued restoration work in False Creek, and identified potential alternate locations that may be suitable for restoration efforts. Spawning panels were installed and monitored at Fisherman’s Wharf Marina and Coal Harbour Marina to support ongoing restoration efforts led by the Squamish Streamkeepers. Water salinity, water temperature and ambient noise data was collected at locations where panels were placed. ArcGIS Pro was used to map data with historical herring spawning sites to identify patterns and inform potential suitable locations for panel placement. A website was created to serve as a centralized, accessible resource for the Vancouver public to learn about local herring populations and easily get involved with efforts to support herring spawning. Overall, this project provides a spatial framework to inform future herring habitat facilitation in Vancouver by identifying suitable locations for herring spawning, given the presence of influencing environmental factors.
Bond et al. (Thu,) studied this question.