Over 20 million salmon sets record at Quinsam Hatchery in Campbell River
Neil Cameron / Campbell River Courier Islander, April 29, 2014
Pink salmon outmigration from the Quinsam River has reached the highest levels ever recorded at Quinsam River Hatchery.
This year the number of outmigrating pink salmon from the Quinsam River is expected to be over 20 million, a record saysDave Ewart, Watershed Enhancement Manager, Ecosystem Management Branch, South Coast Area, Quinsam River Hatchery.
And the news also comes as BC Hydro’s $15 million, 10-year fish monitoring program with 12 components is rolled out across the Campbell/Quinsam River system.
Ewart says the phenomenal numbers of young pink are due mainly to the 850,000 adult salmon that reached the rich upper watershed of the Quinsam, and very stable winter incubation conditions in the river. That reach was made possible by the Quinsam River cascades fish ladder project around 2005 which was done by local stewardship groups, with partial BC Hydro funding support through the Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program.
The Quinsam and Salmon River Smolt and Spawner Abundance Assessments $2 million study is one of BC Hydro’s 12 projects. BC Hydro has partnered with Laich-Kwil-Tach Limited Partnership, a First Nations company for the program.
The monitoring projects are part of BC Hydro’s Water Use Plan.
“This study is to determine the fish production in the Quinsam the Salmon rivers to see if the new BC Hydro operating regime will provide the expected gains in fish abundance,” said BC Hydro’sStephen Watson.
“The minimum river flow below the Salmon River diversion dam and Quinsam River diversion dam is now higher with BC Hydro diverting slightly less water from those facilities into the Campbell River system. There are other study factors to be looked at like food availability.”
The field work is being done daily at the Quinsam counting fence, led by a DFO technician with assistance from A’Tlegay Fisheries Society technicians. Every day, they count how many fish are caught in the traps at the fence and enumerate species and numbers. The pink counts started in mid-March and will continue until June to gather information on all species that are migrating.
“Quinsam River fish abundance is being measured as the number of returning adults in the fall, and smolts out-migrating in the spring and early summer,” said Watson.
“The study is particularly looking at chinook and coho salmon, and steelhead. Projects like the Quinsam cascades, along with operational flow changes and study initiatives, are all coming together nicely in the hopes of better understanding and increasing fish productivity.”
