Salmon Run: The River Awakens
While waiting on Fisheries and Oceans Canada to release their draft plan to transition away from open-net pen salmon farms (which was initially due at the end of July), Pacific Wild staff decided to check in on the wild salmon population coming back to spawn on Vancouver Island.
Not only did we see good numbers of sockeye salmon surging through the rapids to lay their eggs, the forest around the river came alive with creatures greeting their return. Tiny, fluffy birds (the American Dipper) that looked like they would be more at home perched on a bird feeder than in the wilds, had their feet stubbornly planted in the rushing current and rhythmically dunked their heads underwater searching for salmon eggs and freshwater invertebrates. Ravens and eagles called from the branches above, and a mink snuck down to the river beside us to snatch a fish so stealthily that only our keenest wildlife-spotter noticed it at all. Bear after bear paraded down the river to fish, some with tiny cubs in tow so small that they tumbled down the river bank when their short legs couldn’t quite keep up with their mother’s.
In general, the environmental conditions in both freshwater and marine habitats are trending in the wrong direction for B.C. salmon as temperatures get hotter. This year, returns in many regions of our province are expected to be at or below average. However, focusing on the positive, the Fraser 4-1 Chinook salmon (traveling to their spawning grounds in and around the Thompson and Shuswap River and tributaries) are forecast to be abundant although they are listed as threatened or endangered in many parts of southern B.C..
In recent years, pink salmon have been returning strong to their freshwater homes around the Broughton Archipelago after years of struggling. The success of pink salmon returns in the Broughton comes in the wake of the removal of open-net salmon farms from the surrounding area. Removing open-net salmon farms is an actionable item the government can take to help ease pressure from wild salmon stocks.
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Video Credits:
Filmed and edited by Lars Isaac
VO by Roan Bohonos
