Tag Archives: Pink Salmon

Rivers & Oceans

DFO ‘legacy of neglect’ leaves North Coast salmon to flounder

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Fisheries and Oceans Canada cut the monitoring of salmon streams along BC’s North and Central Coast, leaving critical stocks uncounted at the height of spawning season.

Seasonal “creek walkers” — contractors for the fisheries department (DFO) who trek along streams to record salmon returns — haven’t been hired as stocks return along the coast from Bella Bella to the Alaskan border, including major watersheds like the Skeena, Nass and Kitimat systems, says a coalition of conservation groups. 

Continue reading DFO ‘legacy of neglect’ leaves North Coast salmon to flounder →
Rivers & Oceans

Cortes Island Streamkeeper Spawner Counts 2013-2024

By Cec and Christine Robinson

Recent monitoring of Cortes creeks officially began in 2013 by Cortes Island Streamkeepers, Christine & Cec Robinson. In 2014, streamkeeper numbers expanded as several more salmon enthusiasts began helping with spawner counts. Cortes Island Streamkeeper records were sent to DFO in Campbell River in 2014, and have continued yearly since.

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Rivers & Oceans

Salmon vs. climate change: How salmon are surviving climate shifts in Squamish

Editor’s note: The similarities this story has to our situation on Cortes Island, with Basil Creek having come close to drying up in 2022 and 2023 and the way that fish eggs are being harvested to try boost the population, made this story a must read.

By Bhagyashree Chatterjee, The Squamish Chief, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

What happens when a creek runs dry, and the fish that call it home can no longer make their way upstream?

For the team at Tenderfoot Creek Hatchery in Squamish, it’s a challenge they’re tackling head-on as the impacts of climate change ripple through the watershed.

While many hatcheries focus on large-scale harvests, Tenderfoot Creek is all about conservation.

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Animals, Rivers & Oceans

DFO: Chum runs are looking much better throughout most of our area

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 →
Rivers & Oceans

Industry Journal: No Future For Net Pen Salmon CAFO?

There was some bad news this month for the Norwegian fish feedlot industry in Canada:  their own trade magazine featured the following headline:

The Critics Are Right: It’s Time To Close Down Salmon Farms
(link to text only version)

Continue reading Industry Journal: No Future For Net Pen Salmon CAFO? →