It was great to squeeze in a one-hour ravine and Burnaby south slope ramble tonight after a solid 1-1/2 days of meetings this weekend.
I felt like this gorgeous full moon was rewarding me and my fellow volunteer Salmon Enhancement and Habitat Advisory Board members for our efforts over the weekend.
We’re off to Department of Fisheries and Oceans Pacific Regional HQ tomorrow to share highs, lows, and advice from the BC stewardship community.
I’d heard about the great success that Squamish Streamkeepers have had in wrapping pier pilings so that spawning herrings’ eggs are not killed by creosote and other chemicals. Today my wife Yumi and I had a chance to meet Dr. Jonn Matsen at Fishermen’s Wharf on False Creek in Vancouver to see some of the techniques in action.
Jonn and my wife Yumi hold up a net as a TV news cameraman lines up a shot
Jonn points out how creosote kills herring eggs. There’s no eelgrass or kelp left around here for more natural spawning sites
Net suspended in the water from the wharf
Closer view of herring eggs on piling
I just completed a quick tally of email spawner patrol reports (I may be out a fish or two) and it looks like we’re on track for the best spawner year on Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby, BC, since 2011. So far I think we have processed 28 chum and 4 coho.
It’s a bit hard to compare, because in some recent years we’ve seen many more fish than we’ve eventually found carcasses, even though we’re consistent in areas covered and frequency of patrols. (Extended periods of heavy rain can flush and/or bury carcasses.)
But in terms of comparing carcasses processed (to confirm species, size, sex, and spawning status), we’re looking good.
It also looks good in that most of the female chum found have spawned. Of the two female coho processed so far, one had spawned.
Thanks to all the volunteers going out patrolling, and let’s hope we still get some more fish!
For those curious to know, our best spawner year since fish passage was restored on Byrne Creek at the Fraser outfall about 30 years ago was just over 90 combined chum and coho in 2004.
BTW, volunteer streamkeepers process every salmon carcass found on the creek. We are able to do this because the spawning area can be traversed on foot in an hour to two hours depending on conditions and numbers of fish seen, and because the returns are so low. We do three to five patrols a week from mid-October to late December.
Whew, home after a 2-1/2-day SEHAB (Salmonid Enhancement & Habitat Advisory Board) meeting in Langley, BC.
Thanks to all the BC stewardship groups that contributed to this meeting through their volunteer SEHAB regional reps and DFO Community Advisors. And thanks to DFO staff who came to the meeting to share their insights and give suggestions on how the board can be most successful in moving issues forward.
We have put together what we feel is an excellent document of proactive, constructive advice to share with management at DFO Pacific Regional HQ in Vancouver tomorrow.
SEHAB meets three times a year in locations across British Columbia to listen to local stewardship and Salmonid Enhancement Program groups, and share their successes and concerns with senior DFO management.
I have had the privilege of serving on this volunteer board for many years, including several on the executive as secretary and chair of the Communication Committee, and am always impressed by the wealth of knowledge and experience that folks bring to the table.
We’re getting good numbers of spawning salmon back in Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby, BC. At least good for this little struggling urban waterway.
Here’s a number of shots I took today on spawner patrol. Though I’ve been volunteering as a streamkeeper for some 15 years now, I still find it cool how camouflaged these fish are.
Each one of the following photos has at least one chum in it, and some have several.
The rising submarine chum
The logger chum
The hiding in plain view chum
At least three in this shot
Blending in chum
OK, this dead one was easy to see. 52 cm male.
Hide and seek, heads hidden, tails sticking out chum
As a long-time streamkeeper volunteer, I look forward to positive change on fisheries and environmental files under the new government. The following is what was in the Liberal platform in regard to “water.” It will take time for change to happen, but the stewardship community will be keeping a close eye on the implementation of these promises.
We will protect our freshwater and oceans.
Canada is uniquely blessed with an abundance of freshwater, and marine and coastal areas that are not only ecologically diverse, but also economically significant: our ocean-based industries contribute nearly $40 billion each year to the Canadian economy.
To protect these valuable natural resources, we will deliver more robust and credible environmental assessments for all projects that could impact our freshwater and oceans.
Freshwater
We will treat our freshwater as a precious resource that deserves protection and careful stewardship. We will work with other orders of government to protect Canada’s freshwater using education, geo-mapping, watershed protection, and investments in the best wastewater treatment technologies.To protect our freshwater ecosystems, we will renew our commitment to protect the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence River Basin, and the Lake Winnipeg Basin. We will also act on the recommendations of the Cohen Commission on restoring sockeye salmon stocks in the Fraser River.
To aid in making the best possible decisions, we will restore $1.5 million in annual federal funding for freshwater research – a program that was cut by the Conservatives – and make new investments in Canada’s world-leading IISD Experimental Lakes Area.
Oceans
Stephen Harper’s failure to meet our international commitments to protect marine and coastal areas puts these areas and our international reputation at risk.We will make up for Conservative inaction and increase the amount of Canada’s marine and coastal areas that are protected – to five percent by 2017, and ten percent by 2020. To help achieve this, we will invest $8 million per year in community consultation and science.
We will also directly invest in ocean science. Stephen Harper cut $40 million from the federal ocean science and monitoring programs. We will restore that funding so that we can protect the health of our fish stocks, monitor contaminants and pollution in our oceans, and support responsible and sustainable aquaculture industries on our coasts.
We will use scientific evidence and the precautionary principle, and take into account climate change, when making decisions affecting fish stocks and ecosystem management.
And we will do a better job of co-managing our oceans, by working with the provinces, territories, Indigenous Peoples, and other stakeholders. Together, we will develop plans that make the best use of our marine resources and give coastal communities more say in managing the resources around them.
Byrne Creek Streamkeepers create whimsical and funny dog posters to put up along the creek in the fall to remind dog walkers that salmon are coming back to spawn. We have excellent relations with dogs and their owners — they are out there nearly every day and are excellent “eyes on the creek.”
Over the years dog walkers have come to expect the posters, and even start asking about them if they are not up by mid-October.
We have permission from Burnaby Parks to put these posters up, and we use zap-straps to attach them to trees without harming them.
Yumi preparing a poster
Yumi’s latest creation
Maho’s dog poster
Gee, wonder where Yumi got the inspiration for this one? : -)
Attaching a poster to the footbridge
It was a lovely afternoon for a tour of the working Fraser River with the Burnaby Board of Trade and Port Metro Vancouver. It was sunny and warm, and in addition to the tugs, barges, cranes, containers, and ships, nature put on a bit of a show, too.
I saw several salmon jumping, and a sturgeon rolled just at the surface of the water. An inquisitive harbour seal also put in a brief appearance, not to mention herons, cormorants, seagulls, and more.
You can check out my Flickr album here.
There have been some questions about lamprey on the Byrne Creek Streamkeepers mailing list.
Here’s one that I shot just below the stop log in the sediment pond on July 30 this summer. It was about 15 cm long, give or take a few.
They may seem icky for their snake-like appearance and because many are by nature parasitic, but they are part of the great scheme of things, and have coexisted with salmon, trout and other fish for millennia.
We have observed them spawning in Byrne Creek, in the lower ravine, and in the sediment pond. They are actually quite beautiful to watch when they are mating for they dance and twine together.
Our DFO Community Advisor released about 5,000 coho smolts in Burnaby, BC, south slope creeks this morning. Byrne Creek, on which I volunteer, got a total of about 3,000 of those.
The yearlings are transported in a special tank and then transferred into the creek in buckets
A closeup of the seething mass of life. It appeared that we lost just two or three out of the thousands
DFO is now saying to clip the adipose fins on hatchery coho again, which means streamkeeper volunteers will be able to distinguish hatchery from wild coho when they return to spawn in a few years.
The habitat was looking lush following this morning’s rain
Rain beading on blossoms
Lonely blossom in the rain