NOT so much climate hacking as ecosystem hacking. Dumping iron into the Pacific off the coast of Canada last July was done not to change the climate but to boost salmon numbers, says Russ George, the project’s chief scientist.

The Haida Salmon Restoration Corporation has been at the centre of a media storm since The Guardian newspaper reported that the HSRC had “fertilised” the Pacific with iron. Iron fertilises plankton blooms, and can be used to cool the climate if the plankton sinks and traps carbon.

George says the project was begun by Old Massett village on the Haida Gwaii islands, which has been struggling to restore its salmon fishery. “The village has invested millions of dollars in its dreams of bringing its fish back.”

The village has invested millions of dollars in its dreams of bringing back its fish


They got the idea after dust from a volcanic eruption caused a plankton bloom, leading to record salmon runs in 2010 (Fisheries Oceanography, doi.org/jjb). An HSRC report says the iron dump caused an “immediate shift from scarcity to abundance in sea life”.

George says the HSRC looked at selling carbon credits to recover costs, if the plankton bloom traps carbon, but this was not the main reason for dumping the iron.

The Canadian environment agency is investigating whether or not the dump violated its Environmental Protection Act, which permits only “legitimate research”.