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

Waterway Profiles
Fraser River Discovery Centre
Salmon may be the most famous and sought after inhabitant of the river,
but the Fraser is actually home to over 75 species of fish. Other than the
five salmon species (Chinook, Chum, Coho, Pink, and Sockeye),
eulachon, lamprey, sculpin, smelt, stickleback, sturgeon, and trout all live
for at least part of their lives in the Fraser. New Westminster is located
along the banks of the estuarine portion of the Fraser, where fresh and
salt water mix. Estuaries are characteristically high in biodiversity due to
the mixing of the two types of water. This means that the foreshore of
New Westminster is valuable habitat to many species of fish. However,
much of New Westminster’s foreshore has been lost to human
development. Today, most of the remaining viable fish habitat is located
along the south banks of Queensborough in the Annacis Channel, around
Poplar Island and Sapperton Middle Grounds. In the City’s Official
Community Plan, these sites have all been identified as important
conservation areas. In addition to these three sites, Sapperton Landing
has been recently transformed from an industrial waste site to a multi-use
park with valuable fish habitat (see page 32). Due to programs such as
the Fraser River Estuary Management Program (FREMP) and Fraser
River Action Plan, much of the remaining valuable habitat has been
identified and management plans have been put in motion. One of the
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Map of the Fraser River Basin,
the Fraser River and its main
tributaries