Stream keepers January 2014
Where has all the rain gone, what was the
wet coast has been the dry coast so far this winter which for the fish maybe a
problem next year with limited recharge within the watersheds.
With a recent walk along Bloods Crk from Lantzville
Rd to the highway and above it was gratifying to see dead carcasses still
visible here and there. This section just below the highway is a hidden jewel
this close to the village core, a little difficult to walk down into the gully
but well worth it. { Possible park status ?]
This is the site of one of the volunteer
garbage cleanups we conducted in the past where we removed a big dumpster load
of garbage, it was good to find very little trash and no garbage dumped down
the bank.
With all the eggs tucked away within the
substrate walking the streambed is not advisable until the fry have emerged
next spring. With winter we get some sea run cutthroat venturing into our
streams looking for stray eggs and later on spawning opportunities for there
own offspring.
The small stream called Slogar Brook which
runs from the kennel property parallel to Lantzville road then down Sebastion
to exit on Sebastion beach at one time was a active spawning stream for Sea Run
Cutthroat as late as the 80,s fish were reported to be seen spawning.
The stream contains native Cutthroat, which
remain their whole life within the stream hence being on the small size when
compared to the Sea Run cutthroat. Due to urban devolpement the only continuous
wetted reach runs from the beach to Lantzville Rd.
Above very little wetted habitat is
available due to being ditched over the years and overall flows restricted from
diversions.
The only stream that was showing difficulty
was Craig Creek due to its flow going subsurface at Northwest Bay Rd. On recent
walks below the road we found carcasses and bits lying along the banks down to
the estuary at the Salish Sea.
In years past when we had been walking along the upper
reaches we encountered Wild Coho making their way upstream as late as January.
How do Salmon find their place of birth,
often asked I usually reply that they smell the river or stream of their birth,
smell how can that be they say so I go on to explain how a fishes brain is kind
of shaped like a Y with the thinking part at the Y junction and on either end
of the top of the Y are the olfactory organs which are connected directly to
the nose allowing the fish to smell the free molecules in fresh water and hence
can detect individual drops that come from the very same pool that they were
born into.
This is another reason that wild Salmon are
more able to survive than hatchery fish by passing on this trait to their
offspring, which in the hatchery environs does not occur.
A study done on sockeye showed that after
catching fish off Haida Gwai and blinding some fish while blocking the noses of
others resulted in only the ones who made it back were the ones who were
blinded. Another study found that when gravel was replaced with fresh gravel
often from a quarry the fish had a hard time finding a familiar place to spawn
due to the smell of the gravel being different, go figure something as simple
as smell would be one of the main reasons for millions of Salmon returning to
there home waters.
Trees which grow in particular soil types
also affect the PH of the water which in turn affects the smell that is why
when a different species of tree is re-planted the PH of the water exiting the
forest is changed further confusing the fishes sense of smell.
Over the holidays we planted native trees
right up to Xmas mainly down in the wildlife reserve at the head of the bay,
which contains Bonnel and Nanoose Creeks.
We still saw dead Chum laying all
throughout the estuary mainly due to the low flows and lack of rain not
flushing them out and most wildlife being sated on fish from the big runs last
fall. When they get hungry later
they may still munch on those rotten old eyeless Chum drifting around the
streams.
With all the eggs tucked away nice and snug
in their gravel we now await their emergence from the gravel this coming spring
to begin their epic life cycle and journey around the Pacific Ocean.
Fishy Fish
Estuary days
Still the water sits
Sleeping
Ripples stir the surface
Cronk goes Heron
Mother Salmon calls
The return begins.
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