International study to track numbers and health of Pacific salmon given B.C. backing

The British Columbia government has given its support to a comprehensive study of Pacific salmon.

Designed to mark the International Year of the Salmon, the major five-nation survey will trawl for the fish, identify their origins using DNA samples and use data to estimate their numbers and health.

The expedition will cover huge areas of ocean that are crucial to B.C.’s salmon stocks because they are feeding grounds for the majority during their winter migrations.

Lana Popham, the minister of agriculture, was in Vancouver on Saturday to wish the team luck as they boarded a research vessel.

"Wild salmon are crucial to the success of B.C.'s economy, the prosperity of coastal communities and the lives, culture and history of Indigenous peoples," she said.

"We are always looking at ways to protect our wild salmon and this study will provide us with crucial information as we continue to support this important resource for British Columbia."

Expedition organizer Dick Beamish, meanwhile, said the discoveries made by the team will help lead to an understanding of how to care for Pacific salmon in an uncertain ecological future.

The province has given $75,000 of funding to assist with data analysis, transportation of equipment and modifications to the research ship.

UBC will manage the data that is collected by the team.

Other countries involved are Russia, Japan, South Korea and the U.S.A.