There are more Chum swimming up Basil Creek than we’ve seen for years. According to Matthew Clarke of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), Cortes Island isn’t the only place where the Chum run is good this year.
“As a general rule this year things are looking much better for Chum than they have looked, albeit with a couple of places that are not quite as strong as we would have hoped to see,” he explained.
Continue reading DFO: Chum runs are looking much better throughout most of our area
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?Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Concern over B.C.’s declining wild salmon stocks is running high this year as sockeye returns on the Fraser River hit a historic low. But while the overall news may be dire, there are bright spots. Some pink salmon stocks along east Vancouver Island appear healthy, and run counts at the Quinsam River Hatchery near the city of Campbell River were good this fall.
Continue reading A bright spot: pink salmon stocks along east Vancouver Island
Aside from the incredible run of 2010, reports of the Fraser River’s sockeye salmon tend to be glum. I believe there is only one Cortes Island based fisherman still working the Johnston strait and recently learned this is the second year he did not receive an opening to fish sockeye.[1] Though the culprits were last year’s drought and a culvert, most of the chum returning to Basil Creek in 2015 were killed before they could spawn. These were just a few of the stories that prompted me to seek out evidences of the impending demise of what was previously one of our province’s leading industries. Instead, I found good news about BC’s fishing runs.
Continue reading Good News About BC’s Fishing Runs
