It's time we honoured our province's icon

Miro Cernetig
May 15, 2010
Vancouver Sun

You may have heard about the move to find an official fossil for British Columbia. The 80-million year-old elasmosaur, a deep-diving dinosaur that once fed off our coast, is one of the extinct front-runners for the posthumous honour.

But before we get to picking an official fossil to join our official flower (the Pacific Dogwood), official mammal (the white Kermode bear), official bird (the Steller's jay) and our official tree (the western red cedar), I have a suggestion. 

We might want to find ourselves an official fish. Many people think we already have one. Actually we don't. It's time we honoured the salmon. Salmon are the icon of this province.

They are part of first nations' heritage, the leitmotif of a sophisticated aboriginal culture that endures. Salmon runs were essential to building the province's early, post-colonial economy. Today, salmon remain a vital part of the ecological food chain that feeds those grizzly bears, bald eagles and orcas that make us one of the continent's last, great wilderness destinations.

Read the full story in The Vancouver Sun

Read related stories:

• Straght.com; June 2, 2010; "Plan introduced to declare Pacific Salmon as B.C.'s fish"
• The Vancouver Sun; May 18, 2010; "Salmon is a true symbol of our province"