Historic data starting in the 1920s tracks salmon spawning observations and abundance estimates for over 9,800 individual populations in Canada's Pacific region. The database is maintained by Fisheries and Oceans Canada and was updated in 1995 to include descriptive information for each estimate. Data can be grouped by Conservation Unit following the 2005 Wild Salmon Policy.
Use Cases
- Analyzing long-term salmon population trends based on historic spawner survey data.
- Modeling stock abundance and escapement estimates for conservation planning.
- Grouping and analyzing population data by Conservation Unit for policy assessment.
- Studying changes in data collection methodology and estimation accuracy over time.
Strengths
- Covers over 9,800 individual salmon populations.
- Includes data records starting from the 1920s, providing a long temporal series.
- Database structure incorporates a watershed-coding system for unique stream identification.
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Many historic estimates prior to 1995 are labeled 'Unspecified Returns' due to database limitations.
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
Provenance
- Source
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada
- Collection Method
- Stores individual spawner survey data records and spawner abundance estimates from DFO Pacific Region.
- Time Range
- 1920s to present
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-05-08 02:01:53.272115; freshness should be verified.
- Geography
- Canada's Pacific Region freshwater locations