The
Importance of the Fraser River
The
Fraser River is the lifeblood of the province of British Columbia,
stretching 1,368 kilometres from its headwaters in Mt. Robson
Provincial Park to its mouth at the Gulf of Georgia. It plays
a vital role in supporting massive salmon runs, a riverside wood
products industry, agricultural harvest, immense shipping and
transport facilities and a billion-dollar recreation trade. The
Fraser is in serious danger of succumbing to the pressures that
the 2.4 million British Columbians living in its Basin impose.
We can no longer afford to have these effects go unnoticed.
Facts on the Fraser
River
- It is the largest river in B.C., at over 1368 km in length.
Its headwaters are at Mt. Robson in Jasper.
- It is the fifth largest river in Canada.
- The drainage of the Fraser River watershed is nearly one quarter
of a million square kilometres - which is larger than the area
of Great Britain!
- It is the largest salmon producing river in the world.
- Approximately 800 million juvenile salmon migrate along the
river every year.
- There can be up to 20 million salmon on any given day in the
estuary.
- Each juvenile fish may spend up to 3 months in the estuary,
feeding and adjusting to the salt water, on its way out to sea.
- Over 80 fish species live, spawn, feed and rest in the river.
- 300 types of invertebrates, including shrimps and crabs, use
the estuary.
- Approximately 750,000 waterfowl and 1.2 million shorebirds
use the estuary as a major stop along the Pacific Flyway between
the Arctic and South America.
- The estuary has the largest population of wintering shorebirds
and raptors, including eagles and hawks, in Canada.
What is an estuary?
Herons
in the Fraser River Estuary
Great blue herons are a common sight along the Fraser River estuary.
But every sighting is special as this bird is so spectacular to
watch.
The great blue heron is a dignified looking bird with long slim
legs, a slender neck and a dagger-like bill. Herons can be seen
standing still in the shallow waters of streams and marshes. They
patiently wait for their prey to come within striking distance.
These birds
date back more than 57 million years, stand over three feet tall
and have a wingspan of six feet. As it flies with its neck folded
back, head hunched down between its shoulders and legs trailing
straight behind, the great blue heron is an impressive sight.
Herons hunt
for fish, frogs, voles and other small mammals. A heron will catch
a fish and then flip it in the air so it goes down headfirst.
As herons are at the top of the food chain, they can ingest toxins
accumulated in the tissues of their prey.
Herons live year-round along the Fraser River estuary, nesting
in heron colonies. These colonies are made up of several nests
perched high up in trees. The average colony size is thirty nests.
In fact, the oldest heron colony in British Columbia is right
outside the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre!
Heron colonies
are being disturbed at an increasingly alarming rate. Great blue
herons require large secure blocks of forest close to their feeding
grounds. As the human population of an area grows, these large
blocks of forest are often infringed upon for development and
industry.
Heron populations
are declining at a rate of approximately 3.5% per year. Presently,
the sub-species of great blue heron that lives along the B.C.
coast has been given a status of "vulnerable" and is on the B.C.
Ministry of Environment's "blue-list."
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