For over 30 years, salmon trying to swim up Jacobsen Creek, a tributary of the Tatalu in South Surrey, Canada, were met with a two-meter high culvert, blocking passage to the creek and affecting the creek’s ecological balance.
To help bring the salmon back to the creek, A Rocha Canada’s Conservation Science team came up with a plan to reconnect the creek with a fishway, designed to follow the creek’s natural meander. Planning and construction were carefully timed to minimize risk to the fish and their habitat, and fish in the area were safely caught and moved to other parts of the creek, before temporarily redirecting the water flow around the work site.
Construction of the fishway, which raised the streambed to the height of the culvert, was completed in 2023, with additional plantings and adjustments in 2024 and 2025.
By the third season, returning Chinook and Coho salmon were actively spotted spawning upstream – a promising sign of ecological recovery.
“Humans have done a lot of things that have degraded salmon populations, but this project is an example of how humans can also help watersheds heal. It is exciting and encouraging to see salmon back in the ecosystem upstream of this barrier after at least 30 years of absence,” said Paul Simonin, Director of Conservation Science at A Rocha Canada.
This project, funded by the Pacific Salmon Foundation, with additional support from Fisheries and Oceans Canada Salmonid Enhancement program, British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund, and Investment Agriculture Foundation, is more than just one creek. It is part of a broader effort to restore salmon habitat and strengthen the Tatalu watershed as a whole. A healthy, salmon-bearing ecosystem will nourish the surrounding forest through marine-derived nutrients, sustain wildlife such as bears, eagles, and otters, and support the cultural and economic wellbeing of communities and Indigenous Nations connected to the watershed.
Watch the video and read more about the project here.
Jacobsen Creek Fishway
