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Fraser Facts

The Importance of the Fraser River

The Fraser River is the lifeblood of the province of British Columbia, stretching 1,368 kilometres from its headwaters in Mt. Robson Provincial Park to its mouth at the Gulf of Georgia. It plays a vital role in supporting massive salmon runs, a riverside wood products industry, agricultural harvest, immense shipping and transport facilities and a billion-dollar recreation trade. The Fraser is in serious danger of succumbing to the pressures that the 2.4 million British Columbians living in its Basin impose. We can no longer afford to have these effects go unnoticed.

Facts on the Fraser River

• It is the largest river in B.C., at over 1368 km in length. Its headwaters are at Mt. Robson in Jasper.
• It is the fifth largest river in Canada.
• The drainage of the Fraser River watershed is nearly one quarter of a million square kilometres - which is larger than the area of Great Britain!
• It is the largest salmon producing river in the world.
• Approximately 800 million juvenile salmon migrate along the river every year.
• There can be up to 20 million salmon on any given day in the estuary.
• Each juvenile fish may spend up to 3 months in the estuary, feeding and adjusting to the salt water, on its way out to sea.
• Over 80 fish species live, spawn, feed and rest in the river.
• 300 types of invertebrates, including shrimps and crabs, use the estuary.
• Approximately 750,000 waterfowl and 1.2 million shorebirds use the estuary as a major stop along the Pacific Flyway between the Arctic and South America.
• The estuary has the largest population of wintering shorebirds and raptors, including eagles and hawks, in Canada.

• An estuary is where a river meets the ocean, or where fresh water meets salt water, and tides affect river levels.
• This mixing of fresh and salt water results in a highly productive and diverse environment.
• Estuaries are among the most biologically productive areas in the world.

• Estuaries are important feeding and resting grounds for salmon fry making their way to the sea.

Herons in the Fraser River Estuary

Great blue herons are a common sight along the Fraser River estuary. But every sighting is special as this bird is so spectacular to watch. The great blue heron is a dignified looking bird with long slim legs, a slender neck and a dagger-like bill. Herons can be seen standing still in the shallow waters of streams and marshes. They patiently wait for their prey to come within striking distance.

These birds date back more than 57 million years, stand over three feet tall and have a wingspan of six feet. As it flies with its neck folded back, head hunched down between its shoulders and legs trailing straight behind, the great blue heron is an impressive sight.

Herons hunt for fish, frogs, voles and other small mammals. A heron will catch a fish and then flip it in the air so it goes down headfirst. As herons are at the top of the food chain, they can ingest toxins accumulated in the tissues of their prey.

Herons live year-round along the Fraser River estuary, nesting in heron colonies. These colonies are made up of several nests perched high up in trees. The average colony size is thirty nests. In fact, the oldest heron colony in British Columbia is right outside the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre!

Heron colonies are being disturbed at an increasingly alarming rate. Great blue herons require large secure blocks of forest close to their feeding grounds. As the human population of an area grows, these large blocks of forest are often infringed upon for development and industry.

Heron populations are declining at a rate of approximately 3.5% per year. Presently, the sub-species of great blue heron that lives along the B.C. coast has been given a status of "vulnerable" and is on the B.C. Ministry of Environment's "blue-list."