New Westminster Environmental Almanac (2917 ... - Douglas College

Waterway Profiles
Fraser River
The Fraser is the longest river in British Columbia at 1378 km and the
fifth longest in Canada. It drains 25% of the entire province, in which
60% of the province’s population lives. Over thousands of years,
sediment transported by the Fraser and deposited at its mouth has created
the land that we now live on.
The Fraser River is an important social, economic, and environmental
asset to British Columbia as well as Canada and has had and will have a
major influence on the past, present and future of New Westminster. For
a good portion of BC’s history the Fraser has been the main
transportation and communication
channel to the province’s interior. Even
after the decline of paddlewheelers and
other riverboats on the Fraser, the
railroads that took their place followed
the banks of the Fraser for much of their
routes. Today the Fraser still plays an
essential role in the economy of British
Columbia and New Westminster.
Fifty percent of BC’s agricultural lands lie within the Fraser River
Watershed. The Fraser River is the largest salmon-producing river in the
world. More than 800 million juvenile salmon will migrate down the
river each year, supporting a large portion of the commercial fishing
industry. Around New Westminster the Fraser is a key storage area of
raw logs, protecting them from the Toredo worm, a marine mollusc that
devours wood. The Fraser Port is the largest freshwater port in Canada
and is the destination of hundreds of overseas cargo ships. Annually,
about $9.2 billion worth of cargo pass through the Port every year.
Historically the Fraser attracted many industries to New Westminster and
although industry still thrives here, residential and commercial sites have
started to increase in number. Although development along the Fraser has
greatly helped the City become what it is today, it has come at a cost to
the environment.
39
Waterway Profiles