Are streams in Haida Gwaii cool enough for spawning coho? How are temperatures affecting sockeye fry in the Fraser Valley? By compiling water temperature data across B.C., François-Nicolas Robinne and the team at the Pacific Salmon Foundation (PSF) are answering key questions about water temperature, a key influence on salmon health.
“I’m on a quest,” says Robinne, an analyst at PSF. “I have been going anywhere, everywhere to ask for freshwater data.”
Robinne and PSF are working to add new data to the Pacific Salmon Explorer, making key information on water temperatures and other factors readily available. Launched in 2016, the online platform centralizes information about salmon populations throughout the province, providing details on everything from hatchery releases and spawning runs to wildfire damage.
Kate O’Neill studies the effects of climate change on salmon in several Vancouver Island rivers. Photo credit Pacific Salmon Foundation.
It’s crucial information. Across coastal B.C., salmon are keystone species that support everything from bears to eagles and are central to Indigenous cultures and livelihoods. Better data on the stressors affecting salmon health means more effective efforts to protect and rebuild declining populations.
Adding water temperature data to the Pacific Salmon Explorer will deliver even more insights. “It’s a very good indicator for general watershed health and salmon habitat conditions specifically,” Robinne explains. Salmon are cold-water species, he says, that struggle to survive when temperatures exceed 18 degrees Celsius.
Monitoring water temperatures can also help track how landscape disturbances and climate change are affecting salmon habitats. It can pinpoint where high temperatures might be causing problems for salmon when they are spawning, rearing, or migrating. This informs local strategies to manage these temperature issues, like which riverbanks need more trees planted to shade the water.
Doing away with data frustrations
But compiling that data is a huge undertaking. Data on water temperature is collected by numerous organizations, so it can be challenging to access for those involved in salmon conservation. The joint efforts of 40 organizations, including First Nations, Crown government agencies, and volunteer-run streamkeeper groups, have contributed 160 sources of shared data to PSF’s work.
Because different groups monitor water quality in different ways, Robinne spends hours getting the data into comparable formats. “Trying to put that together, it’s kind of a nightmare, to be honest,” he admits.
That’s why he’s encouraging his network to share their data using Pacific DataStream — a secure, open-access repository for water quality data across the region. It offers free data storage, an attractive feature for many budget-conscious monitoring groups. And because it requires users to input data in a consistent, standardized format, it allows PSF to leverage the data more efficiently.
“It streamlines my work,” Robinne says. “It makes everything so much easier.”
Skeena Fisheries Commission team conducts freshwater temperature monitoring. Photo by Tim Wilson.
Better insights, sooner
Leveraging DataStream will incorporate water temperature data to the Pacific Salmon Explorer sooner, creating a richer picture of the freshwater environment that salmon spend much of their lifecycle in.
So far, about half a dozen of PSF’s collaborators have shared information via DataStream from 172 monitoring locations, while discussions are underway to engage additional partners.
Ultimately, Robinne hopes to add more water quality parameters like dissolved oxygen to the Pacific Salmon Explorer, all available to NGOs, researchers, policy makers, and communities with the click of a mouse.
The more data that PSF can compile — with the help of DataStream — the more powerful the insights on keeping salmon populations thriving for generations to come.
