Tag Archives: Jason Hwang

Animals, Rivers & Oceans

Will the heavy rains come in time for this year’s Chum run in Basil Creek?

Part 1 in a series of articles about the Fall 2023 Salmon runs; Click here for Part 2.

Very little water is trickling through Basil Creek, where Cortes Island’s principal Chum run occurs in late October. There have been few days of rain on Cortes since May, and some of the area’s shallow wells stopped producing in July. Only about 10 Chum were seen in Basil Creek during the 2022 drought. Unless water levels rise, this may be the second year in a row when there is not a significant creek for the Chum return. 

According to the Pacific Salmon Foundation, BC is going through ‘one of the most extreme periods of drought in recorded history.’ 

Continue reading Will the heavy rains come in time for this year’s Chum run in Basil Creek? →
Rivers & Oceans

Only time will tell drought’s full effect on local salmon runs

By Patrick Penner, Tri-Cities Dispatch, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

When the Hoy Scott Watershed Society hosted their annual Salmon Come Home event last Sunday, the creek was “barely a trickle,” said Tyler Storgaard, hatchery manager. 

B.C.’s drought conditions persisted throughout the latter end of the summer and didn’t break until Monday.

Continue reading Only time will tell drought’s full effect on local salmon runs →
Rivers & Oceans

Pacific Salmon Explorer: tool to help protect BC salmon

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A groundbreaking online tool that illustrates the state of Pacific salmon across B.C. aims to help protect endangered populations and drive future conservation efforts. The Pacific Salmon Explorer is a public data-visualization site that people can use to see what types of salmon are returning to a given area and find available data on the health of the population and the cumulative habitat pressures the fish may be facing.

Continue reading Pacific Salmon Explorer: tool to help protect BC salmon →