|
~ Welcome to our new quarterly newsletter! ~
This year was a busy one for the BCCF Vancouver Island office! To share our project accomplishments, connect with current partners, and reach new community members, we've developed this newsletter, which will be released quarterly, to inform and update anyone interested in our work. Please feel free to forward this along to anyone you think may be interested.
Thanks for reading along!
|
|
|
Projects Highlighted in this Newsletter:
Click project name to jump to section
|
|
The Bottlenecks to Survival study is a collaborative project with the Pacific Salmon Foundation and many other partners. This multi-year research project investigates the migration patterns and survival "bottlenecks" of Chinook, coho, and steelhead in the Salish Sea and rivers along the East Coast of Vancouver Island (ECVI).
Chinook & Coho
We are monitoring ECVI stocks across various watersheds, including the Cowichan, Nanaimo, Englishman, Little Qualicum, Big Qualicum, Puntledge, Black Creek, and Quinsam. Salmon smolts are caught and tagged in rivers during their outmigration in late April and throughout May, using smolt traps. In June, after most have migrated to the ocean, beach seine nets are used to catch smolts in estuarine and near-shore habitats.
|
|
|
|
BCCF crew pulls in a beach seine in Comox in order to catch Puntledge River smolts for PIT tagging. Photo: Danny Swainson.
|
|
|
Salmon smolts are tagged using Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tag technology. The tags are 12 mm, approximately the size of a grain of rice, and each tag has a unique identification number that can be traced back to the biological data gathered during tagging (fish species, size at tagging, genetic stock, hatchery, wild). The tag is inserted into the body cavity and can then be detected as a tagged fish swims over PIT antennas designed to pick up its signal.
|
|
During the 2022 spring/summer season we have tagged over
18, 000 fish in our wild tagging program, and over 60, 000 in our hatchery tagging program!
|
|
|
|
Steelhead
Steelhead are a unique form of Rainbow Trout that migrate to the ocean as juveniles. Unfortunately, many of their populations are in decline.
In April, nine steelhead were implanted with satellite tags and released off of Salt Spring Island in the Salish Sea. A satellite tag is a specialized tag that detaches and floats to the surface if it senses multiple days without fish movement, or if the tag becomes unattached from the fish due to predation. The detached tags can then be collected (if we are lucky), or their data is automatically uploaded to the Argos Satellite.
These tags provide a variety of information on the movement of fish by recording GPS tracks, acceleration, and pressure (depth). This technology is being used to better understand the movements of ECVI steelhead in the marine environment.
|
|
|
|
Satellite tagged steelhead in recovery tank before being released into the ocean near Cowichan Bay. Photo: Danny Swainson.
|
|
|
& More...
This study also uses mobile PIT antennas to scan for tags from fish that were consumed by marine and avian predators. This information will help us better understand predation on salmon in the local freshwater and marine environments, and how it affects the survival of juvenile Chinook and coho.
As part of the Bottlenecks project, a network of PIT antennas has been installed across the ECVI. In 2021, we installed antenna systems on the Cowichan, Nanaimo, Englishman, Qualicum, Puntledge, Black Creek, and Quinsam Rivers. In 2022, we added improvements to our current PIT infrastructure, and expanded to new systems including Goldstream, Stamp River, and Robertson Creek.
|
|
|
|
Fisheries technician Thomas Negrin scans an islet off Ladysmith. Photo: Danny Swainson.
|
|
|
Antenna installation on the Nanaimo River. Photo: Danny Swainson.
|
|
Additionally, from October to March, we conduct microtrolling to target Chinook in their first year in the marine environment. Microtrolling utilizes modified (smaller) recreational fishing gear, so as to reduce harm to the fish, and small vessels, including those of local volunteer fishers. From each Chinook caught, we collect biological data (size at tagging, genetic stock, hatchery/ wild), and insert a PIT tag into the fish before they are released back into the ocean.
Stay tuned for our next newsletter (March 2023), as it will provide an overview of the microtrolling work and our accomplishments!
Check out the links below for more info on our Bottlenecks project in previous years.
|
|
|
Gold River Steelhead Snorkel Surveys
|
|
|
|
|
BCCF crews survey a slot canyon looking for adult Steelhead in Gold River. Photo: Danny Swainson.
|
|
|
The Gold River historically supported a significant steelhead fishery and was once a premier destination for winter-run steelhead anglers in the Pacific Northwest. Since the early 2000s, steelhead stocks have dramatically declined in the Gold River watershed; the root cause of this unfortunate decline remains uncertain.
Over the last four years, BCCF has been conducting snorkel surveys and fry depletion estimates in the Gold and nearby Heber River as a multifaceted approach to monitoring and assessing winter- and summer-run steelhead stocks. This project aims to increase stock assessment of winter-run steelhead in the Gold River, and determine whether the decline is a trend among neighboring watersheds or unique to Gold River steelhead.
In the summer of 2022, BCCF crews conducted snorkel surveys on the Upper Gold & Heber Rivers to enumerate adult summer-run steelhead. BCCF crews also conducted closed-site electrofishing surveys on these systems to estimate juvenile densities as part of on-going stock assessment activities. In total, crews counted 37 and 107 steelhead on the Upper Gold and Heber Rivers, respectively. Unfortunately, these numbers are consistent with the overall trend of declining adult returns on systems across the pacific northwest.
|
|
|
|
BCCF biologist Aaron Androsoff surveys a small canyon section in upper Gold River. Photo: Danny Swainson.
|
|
|
Investigating Sunscreen Impacts on the Cowichan River Ecosystem
|
|
|
Chemical sunscreens contain compounds known as "Ultraviolet Filters" that are used to block UVA and UVB rays from the sun, to protect human skin. They can also negatively impact aquatic life by affecting metabolism, reproduction, and genetic development.
Through the summer months, water samples were collected every other weekend from popular swimming areas around Cowichan Lake and the Cowichan River, as well as downstream of the wastewater treatment plant outfalls to the Cowichan River. Samples are sent to VIU's Applied Environmental Research Lab in Nanaimo for analysis.
In 2021, the highest oxybenzone concentrations were found at Arbutus Park and Gordon Bay on the Lake, which peaked over long weekends. In 2022, we monitored for the presence of oxybenzone, octinoxate, enzacamene, and octyl salicylate. Again, we saw the highest concentrations at swim beaches around the Lake. We're currently processing data and putting together our findings from the past three years of data collection and will be releasing a report with our recommendations this coming spring.
|
|
|
|
Map of Cowichan Lake and Cowichan River water sample sites in 2022.
|
|
This year, we had an information booth set up twice a week at different sites around the watershed from July through August.
We provided more than 100 free river-safe sunscreen samples!
Special thanks to our sponsor, Raw Elements sunscreen.
|
|
|
|
|
Summer students Rebekah Aplin and Jessie Paras at the VIU chemistry lab where samples are analyzed. Photo: Thea Rodgers
|
|
|
European Brown Trout collected from the Cowichan River for tissue sample analysis. Photo: Thea Rodgers
|
|
|
Elk Falls Spawning Gravel Delivery
|
|
|
|
|
Adult Chinook using spawning gravel area at Elk Falls plunge pool. Photo: Danny Swainson
|
|
Having adequate river spawning gravel is a critical component of salmon survival. The construction of the John Hart Dam on the Campbell River has decreased the input of gravel substrate from upstream, causing less habitat to be available for spawning salmon downstream of the dam. The pool below the Elk Falls Canyon is crucial spawning habitat for Chinook and steelhead and has been affected by this lack of gravel aggregation.
To maintain viable spawning habitats, BCCF has partnered with LGL Ltd., BC Hydro, BC MoE, and DFO to restore the river substrate. Initially, in the first years of gravel placement (2002), a helicopter was used due to the limited accessibility of the canyon. In 2015, a new solution for gravel additions was established, which involved cable anchoring structures being installed on the river banks in conjunction with the construction of the suspension bridge in Elk Falls Provincial Park.
The project now uses a cable car trolley system that can drop gravel into the canyon at the Elk Falls plunge pool, where the gravel area spans approximately 400 square meters into the tail-out pool. High flows during the fall and winter will ultimately redistribute the gravel and supply the streambed farther downstream.
|
|
|
180 cubic meters of spawning gravel was added to the Elk Falls plunge pool in July 2022.
|
|
|
|
|
A load of spawning gravel is dropped from the cable trolley into the canyon. Photo: Kirsten Stochmal.
|
|
|
Fisheries Technician, Kirsten Stochmal, secures lead line before setting up the cable across canyon. Photo: Danny Swainson.
|
|
|
Vancouver Island Small Lake Enrichment
|
|
|
|
The addition of limiting nutrients, specifically nitrogen and phosphorus, stimulates beneficial algae growth and primary production in aquatic habitats.
For the past 10 years, BCCF has been enriching small lakes on the East Coast of Vancouver Island that are stocked with rainbow trout by the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC. The addition of nutrients to these lakes during the spring and summer creates a domino effect up the food web, such that more food becomes available for fish, which allows them to grow larger.
This project aims to produce high quality fisheries on Vancouver Island in hopes of providing anglers with a regionally unique experience, encouraging new interest, and new families to try it out.
|
|
|
|
Lakes currently involved in the project:
- Shelton (Nanaimo)
- Rowbotham (Parksville)
- Nimnim (Port Alberni)
- Reginald (Campbell River)
|
|
|
|
|
Four lakes on the East Coast of Vancouver Island (highlighted by the fish and hook symbol) are currently involved in the Small Lake Enrichment Project.
|
|
In 2022, a total of 30 nutrient applications and 24 water quality assessments have been completed across the four lakes. During applications, nitrogen and phosphorus in liquid form are thoroughly mixed into the lake using a fire hose and spray pump system.
Our team regularly measures water quality parameters in these lakes to monitor the changes in water chemistry and nutrient concentrations. A fifth untreated lake is monitored alongside these lakes as a comparison (i.e., a control). The stocked fish species in these lakes are also regularly assessed and measured to monitor increases in their body size.
|
|
|
|
Project lead, Aaron Androsoff, holds a rainbow trout caught at Rowbotham Lake. Photo: Ally Badger.
|
|
|
Fisheries technician, Ally Badger, applying nutrients to Nimnim Lake. Photo: Aaron Androsoff.
|
|
And much more...
Thanks for following along for our first newsletter update! We hope you enjoyed it. If you have any questions or inquiries, be sure to check out our website and Instagram pages below.
Keep an eye out for our next newsletter to learn more about projects, including our microtrolling program, stock assessment (snorkel surveys, electrofishing), flow monitoring, habitat enhancement, and the list goes on...
Immense thanks to our project funders, supporters, and donors for supporting fisheries conservation & research on Vancouver Island.
|
|
We would like wish you all a safe and happy holidays and all the best in the new year!
- The BCCF Fisheries Team
|
|
|
Follow our Instagram page for more updates on our fisheries research by clicking the icon below
|
|
|
About the British Columbia Conservation Foundation: Incorporated in 1969, the BC Conservation Foundation (BCCF) undertakes an array of conservation projects through the protection, acquisition and enhancement of fish and wildlife populations and habitat in partnership with governments, First Nations, industry, and educational institutions. For more information, please visit www.bccf.com.
|
|
|
|
|
|
