Commentary: A proposal to dredge the Second Narrows channel in Burrard Inlet could intensify the pressures of climate change.
Ed.: The essays, analyses and opinions presented as Community Voices express the perspectives of their authors on topics of interest and importance to the community, and are not intended to reflect perspectives on behalf of Salish Current.
The Salish Sea is one of the most extraordinary marine ecosystems on Earth. It supports an incredible amount of wildlife, it’s highly economically productive and it’s a major globally recognized tourism hotspot.
Its waters sustain incredible salmon runs that nourish habitats, food webs and coastal communities alike, as well as the majestic Southern Resident killer whales, an important species that tells us about the health of the Salish Sea.
However, these orcas are one of the most endangered marine mammals on the planet, and this ecosystem is under dramatically increasing pressure.
Salmon populations have declined significantly over the previous decades, despite a banger run of Sockeye last summer. Climate change, that ever-present threat looming on the horizon, is warming coastal waters, drying out rivers and flooding communities. And at the same time, the Salish Sea is becoming one of the busiest shipping corridors in North America.
Now, a proposal to dredge — or remove the layers of sediment and silt at the bottom of a body of water — the Second Narrows channel in Burrard Inlet could intensify those pressures by allowing oil tankers leaving the Trans Mountain Westridge Marine Terminal to transit the inlet fully loaded with more tar sands crude.
At first glance, dredging may sound like a small technical adjustment to port infrastructure.
But in reality, it’s a symptom of the balance between conservation and industry being totally out of whack.
Risky business
Currently, large tankers departing the terminal must leave partially loaded to safely pass through the narrow and shallow waters of Second Narrows. The proposed dredging would remove that constraint, allowing tankers to carry significantly more diluted bitumen through Burrard Inlet into the Salish Sea.
This matters because Burrard Inlet is one of the most challenging waterways in the region for large vessels. Ships departing the terminal must navigate Second Narrows beneath the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge in one of the busiest port corridors in Canada. Container ships, ferries, bulk carriers and tug traffic all move through these waters daily. Strong tidal currents and tight navigation margins leave little room for error.
Handy? Sure. But this change would increase the potential of an oil spill or severe marine accident.
And unlike many tanker routes around the world, this one runs directly through a major urban area. A spill in the inlet wouldn’t occur in a remote offshore environment. It would unleash a disaster in the heart of a coastal metropolis.
The ecological and human consequences would be severe.
The Salish Sea contains critical habitat for the endangered Southern Resident killer whales and vital migration routes for the at risk Pacific salmon. These species are deeply interconnected: the whales rely almost entirely on Chinook salmon, and the survival of these orcas has become a powerful indicator of the health of the entire ecosystem. Both species are icons of the Pacific Northwest.
Cumulative impact
Dredging disturbs contaminated sediments, puts pollutants back into the water column and re-exposes marine habitats to historical contamination. This threatens marine life, water quality, and could have devastating consequences for Southern Residents and salmon. This is in addition to the cumulative effects of marine shipping, such as underwater noise and pollution.
Since the Transmountain Pipeline Expansion came online, tanker movement from the terminal has significantly increased. Allowing tankers to depart fully loaded would increase the scale of a potential spill in Burrard Inlet and the waters of the Salish Sea.
Taken together, the expansion of tanker traffic and the enabling infrastructure proposed here represent a meaningful escalation of cumulative marine risk in one of the most ecologically sensitive inland seas in the world.
And the stakes are not only environmental.
The Salish Sea supports fisheries, tourism, coastal economies and the every-day trips down to the ocean we all love. A healthy Salish Sea is also fundamental to the lands, waters and Indigenous and treaty-protected rights and cultural practices of tribes and First Nations, who have stewarded these waters since time immemorial. Healthy oceans are an essential part of resilient coastal communities.
And when ecosystems fail, economic consequences are sure to follow.
In moments of economic uncertainty — whether it’s trade disputes or global supply shocks — it can be tempting to treat environmental protections as obstacles to growth. But weakening ecological safeguards ultimately undermines the very systems that support long-term prosperity.
Fisheries, tourism, coastal infrastructure, connection to nature and climate resilience all depend on functioning ecosystems, and sacrificing biodiversity to the altar of short-term industrial expansion risks trading lasting economic stability for temporary gains.
The Salish Sea is not just a shipping route. It is a living ecosystem and a shared home for communities both human and wild.
Its future depends on the choices we make now.
— By Russ Elliott, Anna Barford and Lovel Pratt
Also read in Salish Current:
• “Woe, Canada! Washington State Ferries enters seventh season without cross-border service,” March 18, 2026
• “Cross currents create quandaries for cleaning ship exhaust,” Dec. 17, 2025
• “Local border waters are on the cusp of a major rise in oil tanker traffic,” April 29, 2024
• “Noise, toxins, traffic concerns with proposed metal shredding,” Sept. 7, 2023
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