Back in Safe Waters: The Salmon of Vancouver

Fernando Lessa & Louis Otis · Issue 108, May/Jun 2019 · pp. 60–65

Products mentioned: Nikon D800, Ikelite housing, Nikon SB-105 strobe, Sigma 15mm f2.8, 105mm f2.8 macro lens, 20-35mm f2.8 Nikon lens, 18-55mm Fx f3.5-5.6 lens

The Pacific salmon, one of the symbols of British Columbia, is back in Metro Vancouver. To be accurate, it never completely left, but for a while in the mid-1900s, its future was hanging by a thread. Pollution, destructive urban development, and weak environmental legislation threatened to force it out of the area. This was a sad development for the salmon, a local resident since time immemorial and an integral part of many First Nations’ way of life for centuries. Stuck in traffic Diver and photographer Fernando Lessa has been documenting the state of the salmon and of its habitat in Metro Vancouver for the last two years for his not for profit project, Urban Salmon. The objectives were to document the fish in its Metro Vancouver habitat, donate an image bank to local conservation groups for educational purposes, and produce a photography book. The project came to life a bit by accident…