Salting the roads in winter may be killing Coho salmon eggs, according to new research by a collective of BC universities and government agencies.
Masters students from UBC recently shared their research, which has yet to be peer-reviewed. However, they found there were pulses of salt from roads washing into freshwater systems, creating excessive salt levels lasting about a day at a time.
In their lab trials, they recreated the conditions and found they decrease survival, create deformities, and cause death for Coho eggs.
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They suggest using brine solutions for roads, which use half the salt compared to crystals.
The research is part of ongoing work with the Road Salt and Pacific Salmon Success Project.
