Coho salmon research could

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Contact: Mercedes Deutscher, News Editor
M41 news@theotherpress.ca

lead to population revival

» Studying a little known genetic makeup

Jessica Whitsel
The Peak (Simon Fraser University)

he value of the West Coast’s
commercial salmon fisheries
has dropped from $263 million
to $24 million since the 1990s.
Research shows this is due
toa decline in endangered
populations of salmon.
Enhancing Production in
Coho: Culture, Community,
Catch (EPIC4), a new four-year
research project co-led by SFU
geneticist Willie Davidson,
aims to answer some of the
questions that surround the
Coho salmon through genetics.
By understanding the
genetics of the Coho, Davidson
and his team aim to help reopen
the commercial Coho salmon
fishery that closed down in
1999 and revive aquaculture
on Canada’s Pacific coast.
Currently very little is known

: about the genetic makeup of the
: Coho salmon. One of the goals

: of the project is to establish the

: genome of the species. Along

: with establishing the Coho

: genome, the goal of the project

: is to look into how the Coho

: salmon compares with the

: Atlantic salmon, whose genome
: has already been established.

The researchers hope that

: comparing the two genomes will

: help them gain insight into what

: the foundational differences

: between the Coho and Atlantic

: salmon are. “Looking at Coho, we
: know there are many differences

: and yet many similarities between
: Coho and Atlantic salmon,”

: said Davidson. “Can we put

: genomic, genetic basis for that?”

Davidson’s focus on genetics

could help shed light on what
: drives the salmon to behave in the
: manner that they do. Coho spend

: one year after birth in freshwater;
: they will then swim downstream
: to saltwater, stay there for one to
: two years, and finally return to
: the same stream in which they
: were born to spawn and then die.

There is no clear explanation

: of why the salmon follow this
: pattern, and by looking at the :
: genes of the Coho, the researchers :
: hope to establish if the species :
: is better adapted to fresh or

: saltwater. This could leadtothe  :
: establishment of a comprehensive :
: conservation strategy.

Another reason to look at

: how genes relate to a Coho’s

: life history is to figure out how
: the salmon deal with stress in
: their upstream migration.

Coho salmon have spawning

: migrations of various lengths and
: asa result can travel up streams

: and rivers that have had very little :
: human impact. However, some

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And more!

  

: Coho migrate into the interior of
: the province through rivers that

: have been heavily dammed for

: hydroelectric power projects.

: It isn’t yet understood how

: these migratory challenges

: affect the salmon, but if the

: study gains insight into how the
: Coho react to these stressors,

: there is hope that the stocks

Image via www.the-peak.ca

. that migrate into the interior of
: the province can be improved.

When asked about what

: he would consider the most

: exciting potential outcome for the
: project, Davidson replied, “I think
: understanding the basic biology

: and understanding the marine

: survival would be the biggest

: kick that I could get out of it”

Downtown Eastside street vendors face persecution

» VPD claim that move was not to displace homeless

 
  
 

Mercedes Deutscher
News Editor
M4 news@theotherpress.ca

he City of Vancouver is

on the defence after being
accused of attempting to
displace the homeless in the
Downtown Eastside, insisting
the city and the Vancouver Police
Department are only looking to
relocate homeless street vendors
to a safer area to peddle.

The street vendors have been
present in East Vancouver for
years, both around Commercial
Drive and East Hastings.

The markets have garnered
controversy over time, with
many accusing the often-

homeless vendors of selling
stolen wares. The homeless
vendors often set up shelter
near their street markets.

Many claim that the city’s
move to herd the homeless to
another area to sell their goods is
just an attempt to keep them off
of some streets and move them
onto more dangerous ones.

“They don’t feel comfortable
being there, and either explicitly
or indirectly they’ve received
the message from police that

; they're not welcome there,” said
: Doug King, a lawyer with the
: Pivot Legal Society, to CBC.

King and the Pivot Legal

Society have taken action against :
: the city, saying that Vancouver’s

: bylaw prohibiting street vending
: is unconstitutional. They also

: claim that the move by the city

: and the VPD is in violation

: of a Supreme Court of BC

: decision made earlier this year in
: Abbotsford, which granted more
: rights towards the homeless in

: regard to setting up shelter. :
: The city defended its actions :
: ina statement, as reported by :
: CBC: “People are still able to

: congregate along East Hastings,
: and staff are not displacing

: those who are homeless and

: sleeping on the street.”

As an attempt to remedy the

: situation, the city announced

: that they would set up a more

: permanent location for these

: vendors to sell items. However,

: ina first attempt to establish a

: space, the allocated area became
: overwhelmed and overcrowded.

Many have come to the

: letter to the Georgia Straight

: that read: “We ask the City of

: Vancouver to listen to the 3,000
: Downtown Eastside residents

: who have demanded that the

: DTES become a Social Justice

: Zone. A Social Justice Zone is

: : a place where people are not
: defence of the homeless vendors. :

: A collection of local support
: organizations wrote a collective

: targeted and criminalized
: for being poor, and where
: the needs of the community

 

: come before the profits of

: developers and corporations.”
: They accused the city of

: conducting “social cleansing”
: and brought attention to the
: disproportionate number

: of indigenous homeless

: people in the area.

SFU students are also

: defending the vendors. One
: such student is International

Image via www.news.cn

: Studies major Amy Widmer,

: who said to CBC that it is not

: enough of an effort on the city’s
: part to move these vendors

: toacollective market.

“[Potential buyers] have

to actually actively enter into
: aspace that is designated for
: vending instead of being able
: to just walk down the street,

: pass by, and see something.”