Join us for food & refreshments, and to help us fill sandbags that will be used on-site. Together we can help make the Weir FSC (Food, Social, & Ceremonial) & Scientific Platform a success.

This event is open to all youth, community members, or others that are available to help us fill sandbags. Participants will also learn how this platform is becoming this year’s primary source for food fish.

What is the Weir Program?

Building on the 2023 pilot year and in unison with the Sonar project at Vedder Crossing Bridge, Sumas First Nation will use a weir and trap box paired with an underwater camera to study the impacts of in-stream stressors on salmon migration through the Sumas-Chilliwack River.

The Weir will guide salmon into the trap box to be bio-sampled and released, or visually identified using an underwater camera when the box is open. Sumas is taking a holistic approach to this project, using Indigenous knowledge and techniques paired with scientific evidence, to better understand declining salmon populations.

The temporary weir and trap box will provide a culturally used method to meet the community’s ceremonial, food, and social needs. The Weir will also fill data gaps to lead innovative future conservation and management decisions. Data from this study will be shared with other First Nations, the Province of British Columbia, and Fisheries & Oceans Canada (DFO).