This photograph from Urban Salmon, a coffee table book which documents salmonids around various Metro 麻豆传媒映画watersheds, shows coho salmon in the Capilano River. The book鈥檚 author and photographer, Fernando Lessa, is giving a presentation on salmonids and urban environments in North 麻豆传媒映画next month. Photo: Fernando Lessa/Urban Salmon
Among all the cars and concrete, there was 鈥� salmon?
Fernando Lessa had the same thought when he moved here from Brazil a few years ago. Even with Metro Vancouver鈥檚 bright lights and big sounds conjuring an atmosphere of endless hustle and bustle, he was surprised and delighted to learn that fish such as steelhead trout and coho salmon were still migrating through the surrounding streams and rivers and creeks.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 really important because I don鈥檛 know anywhere else in the world that you get that,鈥� says Lessa, who moved to North 麻豆传媒映画in 2016. 鈥淚 think around us is the only place where you can get the city and the fish so close.鈥�
A photographer and storyteller by trade, Lessa got out his camera immediately. He had learned that Burnaby had many great spots for the ecologically curious to watch salmon returning to spawn, but as a newly-minted North Shore resident he was just as excited to take in North and West Vancouver鈥檚 numerous spawning hotspots 鈥� Brothers, Hastings and Lynn creeks, along with Capilano and Seymour rivers, to name some.
鈥淲hen I moved to Vancouver, I heard about salmon in the city and I got super excited because I have a thing with fish and I always enjoy that,鈥� says Lessa. 鈥淚鈥檓 from Brazil, I have a degree in biology, and back home I used to do this kind of work, so I was already working in freshwater environments with scientists and NGOs and universities.鈥�
But Lessa endeavoured to do something a little different this time. After documenting various salmonids and their natural habitats in various Metro watersheds during a two-year period, Lessa released Urban Salmon earlier this year, a coffee table book which he touts as 鈥渢he first documented photography project featuring salmonids in the urban environment.鈥�
He鈥檒l be giving a presentation, called Under the Surface: Vancouver鈥檚 Urban Salmon, as part of Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre鈥檚 One Earth Speaker Series next month.
A school of coho salmon traverse Capilano River in this shot from Lessa鈥檚 book. 鈥� Photo: Fernando Lessa/Urban Salmon
Noting that for thousands of years, millions of salmon completed their oceanic journeys by returning home to the estuaries and rivers of early Vancouver, Lessa says that since industrialization many of the streams and watersheds are now gone, with urban development and runoff impacting the remaining salmon.
鈥淭he idea of the presentation is to show people how close we are. I try to show images that at first glance people say, 鈥榃ow, this could be anywhere, like in the Skeena [River] or Alaska 鈥� anywhere but Burnaby or North Vancouver,鈥欌�� he says.
The hope, according to Lessa, is that by sharing his book he can impart a sense of empathy for the various watersheds that crisscross the North Shore 鈥� and in the process get people to further understand how fragile the connection is between urban development, migrating or spawning salmonids, and our local waterways.
He chooses to focus his energy less on how salmons鈥� numbers have been impacted by landslides along the Fraser River and an ever warming climate, than on how we can make sure the remaining migrating fish are well-cared for.
鈥淲e鈥檙e still getting some,鈥� he stresses. 鈥淚f we portray the picture like salmon are disappearing, people will think, 鈥榃ell, there鈥檚 no more salmon in this creek, so why should I care?鈥�
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 very important 鈥� if you鈥檝e still got a single fish returning, people must know,鈥� says Lessa.
Cassie Allard of the Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre holds up a copy of Fernando Lessa鈥檚 Urban Salmon: A Photographic Journey into the Metro 麻豆传媒映画Watershed. Lessa is giving a presentation at the ecology centre on Oct. 5. Photo: Mike Wakefield / North Shore News
An ally and advocate of the work of North Shore Streamkeepers,聽聽when he noticed debris such as old fishing gear, Kevlar fishing line, and fish hooks polluting the river. He contacted the Streamkeepers to organize a cleanup, which took place after a group of divers converged following Lessa鈥檚 tip. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a way for me to give back,鈥� he told the North Shore News at the time. 鈥淲hen I鈥檓 diving I see things in a different way.鈥�
He continues to work with other local stewardships groups and hopes his ecology centre presentation, along with the new book, can encourage people to take better care of their local water sources. 鈥淚 say the best we can do is, go and check your creek.鈥�
The journey that fish and water undertake together is simply a part of who Lessa is, he says. The name of his Brazilian hometown is Piracicaba, which roughly translates to the 鈥減lace where the fish stops鈥� because the city has a massive waterfall which fish use to swim upstream to reproduce. He says that for ages, that鈥檚 what made the fishing so good.
But in Piracicaba, close to the dense Atlantic Forest, things have changed during the last many decades. It鈥檚 an environmental pattern that鈥檚 similar to what鈥檚 been happening in B.C., according to Lessa, noting historically low levels of migrating salmonids recorded this year.
鈥淔ish would just concentrate by the waterfall 鈥� but unfortunately not anymore,鈥� he says.
Lessa鈥檚 presentation is taking place Saturday, Oct. 5 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre, 3663 Park Rd., North Vancouver. Cost: $9. Call 604-990-3755 to register.
