nearshore habitat restoration
salt marsh, eelgrass and kelp
Project Watershed’s Salish Sea North East Vancouver Island Salmon Highway (Nearshore Habitat) Coastal Restoration Plan identifies 70 potential nearshore habitat restoration projects along the east coast of Vancouver Island (between the Oyster River and Annie Creek near Qualicum Bay).
Projects were identified by examining changes in the distribution of eelgrass, salt marsh and kelp habitat using historic and current aerial images and coupling this information with an extensive shore-zone assessment and literature review. The plan will guide future nearshore habitat restoration projects undertaken by Project Watershed and our partnering organizations. This is a living document that will be adapted and added to as new data and information about the identified projects arise.
Coastal Restoration
Coastal Restoration Update August 2020
Nikki Wright from Seachange Marine Conservation Society and Maria Cantazaro from the Pacific Salmon Foundation (PSF) visited our kelp research site at Oyster River and our saltmarsh projects. Maria is a researcher working for the PSF on a report looking at the importance of nearshore, habitat connectivity and estuarine habitat to Pacific salmon.
Coastline Restoration in Fanny Bay
On June 17-19, 2020 Project Watershed organized a planting session to restore the vulnerable coastline in the Fanny Bay area. During the three days, our staff and 19 volunteers helped plant almost 2500 individual plants, comprised of Salicornia, Distichilis and dune grass species. This planting compliments another coastal restoration project where the shoreline was revegetated to protect the area from erosion.
Salish Sea Kelp Restoration Enhancing Habitat Connectivity
A kelp forest is a type of nearshore aquatic habitat, found along rocky coasts with wave action or strong currents in depths of 4 to 20 meters.