Gaps in basic knowledge about salmon in the estuary near Flora Bank call into question the review — and approval — of the Pacific Northwest LNG terminal proposed for the mouth of the Skeena River, according to new research from fisheries biologist Jonathan Moore.

Data published Wednesday in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series shows salmon species don’t merely transit through the Skeena River estuary, as advanced by Pacific Northwest LNG in its environmental assessment, but can linger in the unique estuary environment for much longer periods of time than previously thought.

“The young salmon in the Flora Bank estuary are rearing from days to weeks and some individuals for months,” Moore told DeSmog Canada.

“In its environmental assessment Pacific Northwest LNG stated young salmon were moving through the estuary. Our data states that’s not true; the salmon are residing in the area.”

Moore said the new research, conducted by Simon Fraser University, Lax Kw’alaams Fisheries and the Skeena Fisheries Commission, calls into question some of the fundamental assumptions about the risks associated with building a major LNG export terminal on Lelu Island near Flora Bank.

Pacific Northwest LNG, a subsidiary of Malaysian gas giant Petronas, stated salmon species merely transited through the estuary, a rich intertidal zone home to rare eelgrass beds.

“That was the scientific foundation used to assess the risk to salmon populations in an area that is the base of a watershed the size of Switzerland,” Moore said.

Moore said far from being a simple point of passage, the area provides a critical point of transition to young salmon during their journey from river to sea.

“When young salmon are migrating from fresh water to ocean they have to go through this awkward transition.”

“It’s kind of like a puberty transition,” Moore laughed.

“To move from fresh water to salt water in the ocean can be very hard physiologically. They’re moving from breathing and living in fresh water to salt water.”

“They have to alter their systems so they don’t, basically, blow up in the ocean,” he said.

In monitoring wait times in the estuary, Moore and his fellow researchers found salmon were using the area as a waiting ground to reside, feed, grow and transition before continuing on their migratory route.

“This transition determines whether they do well out there or not,” he said.

“Their estuary period can be important for determining the trajectory of the population of salmon.”

Moore said there are some aspects of the salmon lifecycle that remain a mystery.

“There’s so much we don’t know.”

For example, previous research indicates young salmon move through estuaries very quickly.

“But everything we’ve found shows they’re not,” Moore said.

His research found 25 per cent of Chinook salmon spent at least 33 days in the estuary while Pink, Coho and Sockeye spent at least 30, 22 and five days respectively.

“The bottom line is [residency] depends on the estuary, on the species and on the population of salmon.”

Moore said in its assessment of the project, Pacific Northwest LNG concluded there would be no effects on fish.

“The concern is if you don’t properly assess the risks, you might come to the wrong conclusions,” Moore said.

The federal government’s approval of the LNG export terminal in September was met with significant criticism by the scientific and environmental community.

The scientific community asked the federal government to reject the project’s environmental assessment in March because of flawed science that represented an “insufficient base for a decision.”

Many project opponents have pointed out the review relied heavily on scientific information provided by the project proponent while excluding the research of peer-reviewed scientists.

Others have pointed to a federal study from the 1970s that found the mouth of the Skeena River was inappropriate for industrial development due to its importance for salmon species.

Last month a conservation group, SkeenaWild, launched a legal challenge against the project, saying the federal government based its approval on faulty and incomplete scientific information. Two additional legal challenges by First Nations have also been brought against the project on the basis of flawed consultation and respect of indigenous rights.

Moore said sound science is critical for the environmental assessment process.

“My scientific assessment is that there are major problems with the environmental assessment,” Moore said. “Pacific Northwest’s environmental assessment has a shaky scientific foundation and this is an example of where a claim was made without adequate information.”

“What that means is that the basis for the decision makers might not be based on reality, and might not be based on best scientific evidence.”

“More generally I think it speaks to the need to take a hard look at how Canada makes evidence-based decisions.”

An expert panel is currently conducting a review of the environmental assessment process to fulfill a promise made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to restore scientific integrity to the decision-making process around major industrial projects.

Image: Young salmon in the eelgrass of the Skeena River estuary. Photo:Tavish Campbell

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The B.C. government’s decision to build the Pacific Northwest liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal in the Skeena River estuary could have dramatic impacts on the second largest salmon population in Canada, potential affecting the constitutionally protected rights of at least 10 First Nations, a letter recently published in the prestigious journal Science argues.

The Pacific Northwest LNG export facility is proposed for Lelu Island, which adjoins Flora Bank, an eelgrass rich intertidal zone considered critical salmon habitat. The Skeena River estuary surrounding Lelu Island is considered a unique estuary system which acts as a nursery for hundreds of million of juvenile salmon each year.

The letter, co-authored by several scientists and fisheries experts from six First Nations in the affected region, says decision-makers considering the project, backed by Malaysian-owned gas giant Petronas, were uninformed of the ecological value of the estuary as a salmon nursery and its role in supporting salmon runs as far as 350 kilometres inland.

The authors argue the Canadian government did not sufficiently consider how the LNG terminal would affect inland First Nations.

True Scope of LNG Impacts "Not Taken into Account"

“We discovered that salmon from over 40 populations that are harvested in at least 10 First Nations territories rely on the Skeena’s estuary habitat that would be altered by the fossil fuel terminal,” Jonathan Moore, lead author of the letter and associate professor and Liber Ero Chair of Coastal Science and Management at Simon Fraser University, said.

“However, industry proponents and the Canadian government have only recognized the interests of a fraction of these First Nations, and have not taken into account the true scope of potential impacts.”

In the letter the authors state there has been “a striking mismatch between the narrow consideration of aboriginal rights and environmental risks and the true scale of environmental connections.”

“Salmon don’t care about boundaries. Degradation of salmon habitat can impact ecosystems and people as far as salmon can swim,” Glen Williams, member of the Gitanyow First Nation and co-author of the letter, said.

Last month the B.C. Liberals passed Bill 30, the Liquified Natural Gas Project Agreement Act, which opens the door to LNG development over the next 25 years. The Pacific Northwest LNG terminal is waiting on federal environmental approval, which is not expected until after the October 19 federal election. 

Juvenile salmon in the Skeena River estuary. Photo: Tavish Campbell.

Lack of First Nations Consultation

Donna Macintyre, a co-author of the paper, argues her nation, the Lake Babine Nation situated 350 km upstream from the estuary, could be negatively affected by the LNG project.

“The new data from the estuary is evidence that the proposed LNG terminal could pose risks to our fish and fisheries. Lake Babine is the largest of the Skeena sockeye lakes, with millions of adult sockeye returning in some years,” Macintyre said.

She added her nation was not consulted in the environmental assessment process undertaken by the federal government.

Chief John Allen French from the Takla Lake First Nation didn’t participate in the study but said he’s glad the research is being undertaken.

“We applaud this research and expect followup from Canada, B.C., and proponents of LNG projects to meaningfully address our concerns,” he said.

“We live in the headwaters of the Skeena and Fraser River watersheds where salmon are our way of life. We expect the environmental assessment process to take into account both scientific and traditional knowledge to assess the significance of impacts on our rights as Takla people.”

B.C.’s First Nations live on unceded traditional territory and have a constitutional right to maintain traditional ways of life, including hunting, trapping and fishing.

Development near the Flora Bank region could disrupt the salmon cycle, potentially preventing some First Nations from continuing their traditional practices.

“The Flora Bank region in the Skeena estuary is like Grand Central Station for salmon,” Allen Gottesfeld, of the Skeena Fisheries Commission, said.

According to Charmaine Carr-Harris from the Skeena Fisheries Commission, who published a paper on the high population of juvenile salmon near Flora Banks, field crews studying in the area have captured “tens of thousands of juvenile salmon in the area proposed for development.”

Lead author Jonathan Moore argues this information should compel decision-makers to rethink the project.

“This research offers an opportunity for the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency to use science to get the scale right so that they consider the true vast risks to environment and culture as well as economy,” he said. “The unintended consequences of locating this terminal in the Flora Banks region could have watershed-wide impacts.”

Image Credit: Tavish Campbell used with permission

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