Pacific NorthWest LNG assessment underestimated risks to salmon, study claims

Scientific study challenges whether risk to juvenile salmon was properly known but Ottawa stands by decision

Federal approval of a controversial liquefied natural gas export terminal on British Columbia’s North Coast underestimated impacts on juvenile wild salmon, according to a new scientific study. The study looked at how migrating salmon use the Skeena River estuary, including a sandy area with eelgrass beds called Flora Bank, near Lelu Island where Petronas-backed Pacific NorthWest LNG plans to build an $11-billion export terminal. Using chemical markers, the authors found juvenile salmon are eating and growing in the estuary for days to weeks, making it more of a nursery than just a migration route. Read more.