Rivers were positively pink this fall
By Paul Rudan - Campbell River Mirror, Published: November 14, 2013
Pink was the prime colour this fall.
That would be pink salmon whose spectacular returns – the best in 50 years coast wide – exceeded all expectations.
“We had the biggest year in the recorded history,” said Dave Ewart, manager of the Quinsam River Hatchery. “We had one million when all was said and done.”
That’s four times more than the Campbell River and Quinsam River systems require to support future stocks, but more is definitely better than too few.
It was also a bonanza for river anglers who were able to catch and keep four pinks a day as well as local First Nations; the A-Tlegay Fisheries Society was able to harvest 155,000 pinks from the river.
“We have the ability to manage the river and that’s good,” says Ewart.
For instance, hatchery staff know that more fish in the upper reaches of the Quinsam River do not translate into more juvenile fish. Their research shows that 200,000-250,000 is the maximum the river can support.
In other words, says Ewart, more spawners results in the same number, or fewer, juvenile fish. By trying to reach the ideal “escapement” numbers, the goal is to provide young salmon with more than enough space to feed and grow before they head out to sea.
Coho salmon returns were also healthy this year. Up until the recent rainfalls, anglers were catching Oyster River and Black Creek coho just south of the city.
And when the rains fell, the coho started up the Campbell and Quinsam rivers as well.
“They’re coming in right now. They were getting anxious,” Ewart said last week. “Last year we had about 8,000. So far we’ve counted about 6,500 and there’s more to come, probably 1,000 to 2,000 more.”
There were some big chinook caught in the Tyee Pool at the mouth of the Campbell River this year, but river returns were down, to about 4,000, but the count continues.
“It’s on the low side of average. This age class looks bigger, older and larger, but there’s not as many. It’s the same on the Puntledge and Qualicum (rivers) too,” noted Ewart, who is otherwise pleased with fish returns. “It’s been another big year.”
Phillips System
It’s been a good year for chinook salmon on the Phillips system and Rupert Gale is hoping Christmas comes early.
“We’re still in the midst of our stock assessment,” he said during an interview last month, “but we think the returns are very strong. So far we’ve tagged 30 per cent more fish this year and it seems a lot of fish in the river are large fish.”
Gale is president of the Gillard Pass Fisheries Association which is working to revive the run of wild chinook on the Phillips River and Lake system located on the Mainland, east of Campbell River. The system supports all five species of Pacific salmon, but it’s the iconic big chinook that needed the most help. That’s why the association embarked on a pilot project that takes wild Phillips brood stock, transports them to the deep and cold waters of Great Central Lake on Vancouver Island, and then returns them after a full year to the Phillips systems.
The goal is to produce more robust smolts which migrate to sea, are better able to survive ocean conditions, and return in greater numbers. They’re in year three of the five-year project, and this fall some of the first fish – now four years old – are expected back.
And that’s why Gale is hoping for the early Christmas. The data retrieved from this year’s catch of brood stock won’t be ready until December, and Gale is anxious to see the numbers.
“During one brood set this fall, we caught 84 chinook – and the average size of more than half the fish was over 30 pounds,” he said.
The Gillard Pass Fisheries Association is supported by the Kwiakah First Nation, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and the many fishing resorts scattered through the Discovery Islands.
During the association’s annual fundraiser on Stuart Island in August, more than 350 people came out – including Canadian icon Rick Hansen – and raised more than $130,000 to support salmon enhancement
