The Yukon River watershed contains unique salmon stocks, including one of the longest migrations of Chinook salmon. Chinook salmon destined for the upper portion of the Teslin River watershed migrate in excess of 2,700 km to spawn in headwater streams within southern Yukon and northern British Columbia. As with salmon populations elsewhere in the Northwest, declining stocks are threatening the strong connection between salmon, local communities, and First Nations throughout the Yukon. Concerns about declining stocks have prompted a number of Yukon First Nations to become more actively involved in salmon management within their Traditional Territories and many have undertaken their own research and stock restoration initiatives. Innovative methods for stock restoration are being implemented that try to maintain the unique conditions that have shaped the various stocks in the Yukon River. These approaches focus on the use of in-stream incubation that allows salmon eggs to develop under natural conditions and largely alleviates the unnatural effects that can occur due to typical supplementation with hatchery raised salmon fry. In addition to the restoration potential of these in-stream incubation projects, the activities undertaken to date have had a strong research component whereby a number of knowledge gaps in the life history of Chinook salmon in the Yukon River have been filled.

The Natural Resources & Environmental Studies Institute (NRESi) at UNBC hosts a weekly lecture series at the Prince George campus. Anyone from the university or wider community with interest in the topic area is welcome to attend. Presentations are also made available to remote participants through Livestream (Channel 1). Go to http://www.unbc.ca/nres-institute/colloquium-webcasts to view the presentation remotely.

Past NRESi colloquium presentations and special lectures can be viewed on our video archive, available here.